Last week, those of us in the northern hemisphere enjoyed the summer solstice, and this year there was extra reason to celebrate.
According to analysis by Ember, a climate think tank, close to 20 percent of the world’s electricity came from solar during the mid-day peak, an all-time record. That’s up from 16 percent in 2023. In other words, global solar power generation has grown by approximately 25 percent in the last 12 months - as recorded on the annual summer solstice.
It’s an astonishing growth rate. In fact, solar capacity has grown faster than any other electricity source in history, going from 100 TWh to 1000 TWh of generation in just eight years (reaching that milestone in 2021), and it’s not slowing down. It’s expected that solar will account for 8.2 percent of global electricity generation in June 2024.
So, with that in mind, here's a question for you. Who makes more energy: the seven largest oil companies or the seven largest Chinese solar panel manufacturers? If you guessed the oil giants, you’re wrong. When you break down how many joules of energy each one provides - and factor in resource efficiency - solar comes out on top, says Bloomberg, especially considering future investments and equipment longevity. Over the last two decades, solar pessimists have been constantly spanked by reality, yet somehow they never quit. Because solar became identified with environmentalists and the left, a lot of people decided to downplay it, lest they find themselves on the same team as a bunch of greenies (the horror!).
Ember’s summer solstice analysis also reveals that the world’s regions with the highest solar potential - namely, in lower latitudes and in the southern hemisphere - the sun's power remains largely untapped. Almost 90 percent of the world’s panels are installed north of the equator.