Solar is the fastest growing energy source

The world's pollution is becoming more evident every day. Global warming can no longer be denied as scientists discover their initial dire predictions were not severe enough. The burning of fossil fuels is the main culprit in this battle and the need for clean energy has never been more dramatic. Solar power was the fastest-growing source of energy worldwide last year, beating the growth in all other forms of power generation for the first time.

Renewable energy accounted for nearly 66 percent of new power added to the world’s grids in 2016, the International Energy Agency said, but the group reported that solar was the technology that has the brightest future.

New solar capacity overtook the net growth in coal, previously the biggest new source of power generation. The change was driven by falling prices and government policies, particularly in China, which accounted for almost half the solar panels installed. The Chinese are the world's biggest polluters with urban areas overwhelmed with terrible smog. The world needs the Chinese to continue their massive solar production.

Dr. Fatih Birol, the executive director of the IEA, said: “What we are witnessing is the birth of a new era in solar photovoltaics [PV]. We expect that solar PV capacity growth will be higher than any other renewable technology up to 2022.”

The authority, which is funded by 28 member governments, admitted it had underestimated the speed at which "clean" energy was growing. India, another mass polluter, is also becoming wise to the implementation of solar power systems. The amount of renewable energy capacity forecast globally in 2022 has been revised upwards on last year’s forecast, driven by the IEA expecting more than 30 percent more solar installations in China and India.

China dominates the solar market, especially in manufacturing

While China dominates the expansion of renewables, the United States is still the second fastest-growing market despite Donald Trump’s pledge to revive "clean coal" and his insistence on lowering clean air standards.

Paolo Frankl, head of the renewable energy division at the IEA, said that solar and wind subsidies and other incentives meant the president’s influence would probably be extremely limited. For example, Hawaii and California are passing innovative laws that mandate a clean energy future, in spite of the nonsense coming from the federal government. India is also set for a solar boom over the next five years, as problems such as integrating solar farms with the grid are overcome. The country’s renewable energy capacity is forecast to double by 2022, overtaking the Europeans on growth.

Britain still lagging behind in solar

Despite the recent opening of the UK’s first subsidy-free solar farm, the predictions for British solar are fairly gloomy. The amount of solar forecast to be installed by 2022 is about twenty percent of the amount installed over the last five years. The report found that renewables are becoming increasingly competitive with fossil fuels on price, with wind and solar projects setting record low prices in government auctions.

“Renewables may well become even cheaper than fossil fuel alternatives [over the next five years]. However, be careful because this does not automatically mean they are competitive and investment will flow. That depends on the risk of investment and whether remuneration flows to make a project bankable or not,” said Frankl.

The growth in renewable power will be twice as large as gas and coal combined over the next five years, the IEA said. While that will take renewables’ share of power generation from 24% last year to 30% in 2022, coal will still be the biggest source of power.

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