Solar power is set to dominate global electricity markets within the next few decades, and may have already reached an “irreversible tipping point,” according to a study published this week in Nature Communications. The study finds that solar adoption will continue apace barring any major policy shifts geared at disrupting it.
In addition to being a cleaner choice, solar is getting cheaper. The levelized cost of solar-generated electricity — i.e. the cost per megawatt that makes it worth installing — ranges from $42 to $48, compared with $74 for coal, according to BloombergNEF. Jenny Chase, a lead solar analyst at BloombergNEF who was not involved in the study, says those costs will keep falling. “Every time you double the cumulative amounts of solar-power modules that the human race has made, we bring the cost down about 29%,” she says.
Which is fantastic. We've just got to make a lot of the things further down the energy chain, drastically more energy efficient now as well! Otherwise we're just going to grow energy consumption...
Which is fantastic. We've just got to make a lot of the things further down the energy chain, drastically more energy efficient now as well!
Otherwise we're just going to grow energy consumption and require additional energy generation... which drives consumption, which drives generation...
--- quasi-related.
I wonder how much further along the UK would have been if the Tories hadn't have decimated our homegrown firms doing solar and insulation a decade ago?
I think it depends on what sort of additional energy generation gets built. If increased consumption drives more solar panels being installed then I think that still counts as a win? Presumably...
I think it depends on what sort of additional energy generation gets built. If increased consumption drives more solar panels being installed then I think that still counts as a win? Presumably people are using the electicity for something useful.
On the other hand, we do have to account for the materials going into the solar panels, land use, etc. Also, increasing grid capacity is enough of an expense that even some electric companies are starting to prefer installing batteries at customer sites, at least in rural areas.
Locally installed solar panels might end up the only "too cheap to meter" source of electricity. But measuring electricity usage is a lot cheaper than it used to be, so maybe that phrase is obsolete.
Yeah. Honestly, if we can depreciate old sources of Gas, Coal and Oil and not increasing these then we're good! But it's the increase in demand that causes issues as the renewables can never keep...
Yeah. Honestly, if we can depreciate old sources of Gas, Coal and Oil and not increasing these then we're good! But it's the increase in demand that causes issues as the renewables can never keep up.
But this is still good news. I really hope we can get more wind and solar into the global grid(s)
There’s a chart here of new electricity generation in the US scheduled for 2023. It looks like there are no new coal or oil plants going online (if there is it’s buried under “other”) and natural...
There’s a chart here of new electricity generation in the US scheduled for 2023. It looks like there are no new coal or oil plants going online (if there is it’s buried under “other”) and natural gas is 14%. US electricity consumption is basically flat.
Worldwide the story is quite different, though. China produces double the electricity of the the US and it’s growing fast.
excerpts:
Which is fantastic. We've just got to make a lot of the things further down the energy chain, drastically more energy efficient now as well!
Otherwise we're just going to grow energy consumption and require additional energy generation... which drives consumption, which drives generation...
--- quasi-related.
I wonder how much further along the UK would have been if the Tories hadn't have decimated our homegrown firms doing solar and insulation a decade ago?
I think it depends on what sort of additional energy generation gets built. If increased consumption drives more solar panels being installed then I think that still counts as a win? Presumably people are using the electicity for something useful.
On the other hand, we do have to account for the materials going into the solar panels, land use, etc. Also, increasing grid capacity is enough of an expense that even some electric companies are starting to prefer installing batteries at customer sites, at least in rural areas.
Locally installed solar panels might end up the only "too cheap to meter" source of electricity. But measuring electricity usage is a lot cheaper than it used to be, so maybe that phrase is obsolete.
Yeah. Honestly, if we can depreciate old sources of Gas, Coal and Oil and not increasing these then we're good! But it's the increase in demand that causes issues as the renewables can never keep up.
But this is still good news. I really hope we can get more wind and solar into the global grid(s)
There’s a chart here of new electricity generation in the US scheduled for 2023. It looks like there are no new coal or oil plants going online (if there is it’s buried under “other”) and natural gas is 14%. US electricity consumption is basically flat.
Worldwide the story is quite different, though. China produces double the electricity of the the US and it’s growing fast.
Yeah. The UK's is looking quite good, unless Rishi and his idiots remain in charge anyway.