According to the International Energy Agency last week, solar power now accounts for more power capacity than coal for the first time ever.

The entire report is pretty interesting, but here are some key takeaways:

  • Over half a million panels were installed every day around the world last year.
  • Over half the new power capacity installed in 2016 (153,000 megawatts) was renewable-sourced. Which is a 15% increase from what is was in 2015. Three quarters of that came from solar or wind.

For those of you who are curious as to what ‘capacity’ means: It’s basically what a given power plant can produce. Actual generation has remained lower due to things like the unpredictability of the weather. Even that gap is closing rapidly with advances in efficiency.

According to the IEA, they expect renewables could be as high as 28%of the marketplace within the next six years. This is credited to stronger policy backing in the US, China, India and Mexico.

 

What makes it all go ’round??

The last major factor in the growth of renewables? The cost to acquire it. The IEA says the cost of solar should fall by nearly a quarter in the next few months. That means less costs to the customer and that installation can break even with lower load rates faster. What does this mean in normal human language? You’ll come out ahead faster than you ever have before.

With continued support from many of the world’s leading economies – diversifying energy supplies has become a priority issue among the global community. This definitely bodes well for solar customers heading forward.

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