The Daily Populous Tuesday September 3rd, 2024 night edition
Authored by canarymedia.com and submitted by Creative_soja

One of the key drivers of solar’s ascent is its price tag. Utility-scale solar is the cheapest option for new electricity generation in most countries, per the International Energy Agency.

And as the regions responsible for the greatest amount of carbon emissions begin to take decarbonization goals more seriously, they are increasingly embracing the promise of cheap, clean solar energy. Solar additions were 37 GW in the U.S. last year and a whopping 261 GW in China, according to BloombergNEF. China continues to lead the way on solar; the country installed more solar panels in 2023 alone than any other nation has installed in total.

“Even though we are seeing this trend of the increase in solar and wind capacity additions, this is still very much concentrated in just a few countries,” said Sofia Maia, head of country transition research at BloombergNEF.

But other countries are making notable progress. One standout is Pakistan, which leaped to fifth-largest market for new solar investment, up from 14th place during the same period last year. The boom there is mainly driven by rooftop solar, which has become increasingly affordable due to low panel prices and the country’s high buyback rates.

BloombergNEF forecasts that solar’s growth rate will come back down to earth a bit this year, but it’s hardly a gloomy outlook. In 2024, the research firm expects 33 percent more solar will be installed than was in 2023 — nearly 600 GW — an enormous amount that’s nearly equivalent to the total deployed across the five-year period of 2017–2021.

ImBonRurgundy on September 2nd, 2024 at 10:45 UTC »

I imagine the war in Ukraine that sent global gas prices skyrocketing probably made quite a few people and governments think more about energy independence.

nowyuseeme on September 2nd, 2024 at 06:47 UTC »

Got panels and a battery a month ago, we've since been paid to use as much electricity as we wish and the exports should cover the EV charging at off peak, standing charges and gas use.

Yes this won't be the case for three/four months over winter but for eight/nine months of being paid to use energy, it's absolutely fine.

Couldn't be happier, I often find myself going outside to look at the panels (I appreciate that's a bit sad) but I'm really happy with them.

dontpet on September 2nd, 2024 at 05:36 UTC »

> BloombergNEF forecasts that solar’s growth rate will come back down to earth a bit this year, but it’s hardly a gloomy outlook. In 2024, the research firm expects 33 percent more solar will be installed than was in 2023 — nearly 600 GW

Wonderful. And if history is any guide, it will be significantly more than 600 GW.