The future of solar technology

Fossil fuels have only another half-century and then other methods of power will be needed. Renewable energy sources are no longer an option. Without solar and wind power, where would the world get the energy it needs? Solar power is a fast-growing trend, but how fast will it spread?

Where are we now with solar energy?

Solar energy has been with us for some time. It’s no longer unusual to see rooftop solar panels or larger solar farms. Solar panels have become widely used all over the planet and it isn’t just environmentalists who install them. Many home and business owners are installing solar panels because solar is a wise long-term investment that begins paying dividends immediately after installation. The data is overwhelming. In the last ten years, solar energy has experienced a rapid growth and not only did the number of installed solar units increase, solar energy has become a major player in the US economy. Since 2010, the number of people working in the solar industry has doubled. In 2015, some 210 000 people worked in the solar energy industry.

Where is solar going in the future?

Predicting what the future holds is a bit more challenging. The Trump administration denies climate change and isn’t too keen on supporting eco-friendly energy sources. Tariffs placed on the import of Chinese solar panels is not helping. Some environmentalists are very worried about global warming and they are driven to elect people who care about the health and well-being of human beings. While on the surface, it may seem that the immediate future for rooftop solar panels is bleak, the solar movement has such a huge momentum that there isn’t much that the new Trump administration can do to stop the growth. Fortunately, solar panel costs continue to fall in spite of the tariffs.  In 2015, MIT published a 365-page study on the future of solar energy. According to the study, “Solar electricity generation is one of the very few low-carbon energy technologies with the potential to grow to a very large scale.” The study predicts the development of current solar technologies up to the year 2050 since they cannot foresee the technological advancements that might influence solar technologies in the longer term. The researchers at MIT believe that solar energy has the potential to generate multi-terawatt scale power. By comparison, today’s largest solar farm has a 550-megawatt capacity. This is a clear sign of the growth potential of solar energy. The juxtaposition of solar energy prices and the number of solar installations says it all. It shows that the momentum in the solar industry is considerable and not likely to stop anytime soon. New technological breakthroughs happen every day and it can be expected that solar panels will continue to be even more efficient, cheaper and easier to produce.

There has never been a better time to install a solar energy system 

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.