Renewable energy and the potential of solar

Global warming is responsible for the global movement toward renewable energy sources. Especially in China and India, the world’s two worst polluters, there is a major move to solar energy. The air in China’s urban areas is the worst on the entire planet and the deleterious health effects of pollution are driving the solar movement. It will take time to clean up the air in China and India and there’s no time to waste. As the world’s most populous countries, too many of their citizens are vulnerable to disease simply by breathing outside air. Any energy plan needs to incorporate as much renewable energy as is physically and financially possible. Without a massive move to solar, both of those countries would be responsible for many unnecessary deaths and serious injuries.

Solar investments eclipsed all other forms of electricity generation in 2017 as China’s green energy boomed. Investors worldwide invested $161 billion in solar energy last year, more than half the investment in all renewables. Total investment in renewables rose 2 percent to $280 billion. In an effort to no longer be seen as the world’s worst polluter, China invested $127 billion in renewable energy last year. More than 66 percent of that was for 53 GW of solar energy, enough capacity to power more than 38 million homes.

Renewables set a new record

Renewables made up a record 61 percent of net power generation capacity added worldwide in 2017. Actual output from clean energy sources accounted for just 12 percent of electricity production, illustrating the gap that needs to be bridged before clean energy can overtake fossil fuels.
“The world added more solar capacity than coal, gas, and nuclear plants combined,” said Nils Stieglitz, president of the Frankfurt School of Finance and Management, which contributed to the report. “This shows where we are heading, although the fact that renewables altogether are still far from providing the majority of electricity means that we still have a long way to go.”
The costs of solar and wind energy have shrunk dramatically in recent years, making the economic case to transition away from carbon-intensive energy sources all the more compelling. Even though coal and gas are still the cheapest sources of electricity, that’s likely to change as soon as 2023, according to BNEF.

To do your part, install a solar energy system for your home or business.

Solar power is here to stay, and the sooner you explore how much you can save, the sooner you can enjoy the benefits of residential solar power. Go to HahaSmart.com and try our price checker tool. It tells you how much solar power you need, and how much you can save.

Please visit our solar blog to find out more about the benefits of going solar.