Solar energy could be the top source of electricity by 2050, aided by dropping costs of the equipment needed to generate it, said Monday the U.S. International Energy Agency (IEA).
According to West’s energy watchdog two latest reports, solar photovoltaic (PV) systems could generate up to 16% of the world’s electricity by 2050, while solar thermal electricity (STE) – from “concentrating” solar power plants – could provide a further 11%.
The agency adds that more solar power generating capacity has been added since 2010 than in the previous four decades.
Coal currently generates about 36% of global electric power, according to an IEA report released previously. But the figure varies widely by region, reaching as high as 80% in China and South Africa, and about 25% in Japan.
The agency predicts that up to 4,600 gigawatts of photovoltaic capacity could be installed by 2050, up from about 150 gigawatts at present, requiring an average annual investment of $225 billion per year.
Last week at a UN climate summit in New York over 120 heads of state gave their backing to efforts to ramp up financing for renewables and formulate a new emissions reduction treaty, set to be signed off next year.
7 Comments
rockdr
this is the funniest article I’ve read this year…
klgmac
Solar energy is expensive energy. Expensive energy hurts our most vulnerable citizens the most.
Zulugroove
Are you for real? I thought this publication was for serious mining issues. This moronic article makes a mockery of your mandate… Or is this what the cartoons are to newspaper ,..I just didn’t get the punch line I guess!
Rod
This guy has not studied the composition of solar cells, or the limited sources of platinum, or…what happens at night (when one hundred million people turns on the light switch).
Scott
Nothing against solar power, it has it’s place, but its not a panacea. This articles perspective smacks of propaganda, which I used to think was the sole prerogative of Communist dictatorships. Now I realize Its a sign that a few environmental fanatics are either delusional or desperate or both.
Kenneth Viney
Pure Obama BS which is what we are used to. This is one of the agencies we should shut down along with the dept of Education and Exim Bank. Sucks up tax dollars to support friends of the commie progressive liberals.
Devi
You know what’s funny?, All these ppl critizising this articule as it was an impossible goal to achieve. I read some say the solar electricity is too expensive (wich at the moment it is, and that is why we are fignting for, so becomes accessible for every personof the planet) I also read about people that says that what happens when a million ppl turns on the suich at same time, well, if you have your own source, nothing should happen; I also read about propaganda, and clima change delusionals etc….as if were so far from reallity. You know? we are 7 billione people, and every single one of us counts. That is why we should all educate ourselfes and open our eyes. The sole gain from being enviromentalist and fight for clean water, clean air, free electricity (ok, not free at first but the idea is that becomes cheaper and cheaper to have solar pannels and we get our energy from the sun, and it is free) and that biodiversity is respected so the quality of life gets better for all. You thinks is too naive to think that we can change, and you are in denial because you are thaught to do so generations before we were born. That is called the system. But even if you don’t like animals, or plants and you don’t give a shit about Bangladesh floods, California droughts, Indonesia’s forests, or the acidity of the seas, the mas extinction that we are going through and you are one that thinks that even if we o change things are going to be the same, then you are really far from reality. If you have children, you should teach them to care, firtsable for themselves, and secondly for the rest of the world, and when I say world I do not mean only humans, because we as humans depend on whater, vegetation, and animals (even the vegetarian). We depend in tiny creatures as the bees adn every animal that is whiped off from his habitat causes the unbalance that causes deseases from rats infestations, insects, fungus, to even Ebola. You think you have no impact in what you do, just think on how many times you had a shower in your life, calculate all the meat you eat, all the food, and all the air that you brithed, and then calculate how many trees you need to convert that CO2 in oxigen. Now imagine all the industries that releases CO2, methane from fracking all the forests bunr..well, it is a lot of work, right?????
but even with the big atmosphere our big planet posseses, and our big oceans, and our big forests, we don’t have an infinit source. Our planet is not infinit. It is very big for us little creatures, but we are too many (overpopulation is another subject we will have to change and educate ourselves) and think of every time you did something that gave you the unespected consequences and you’ve learn about it. That is life, you learn from mistakes and we yet have people that teaches us and help in our life too, but you cannot undo what you’ve done, for mend that mistake it takes more time and effort. If you cut a tree that was 1000 years old (like Ginko Biloba or an oak) that tree releases all the CO2 that captured in its lifetime, also does the soil where it lives when you burn it so you plant another specie (palm oil, soy or even cereal to feed livestock), and if you wanted to give that back to the nature…you won’t live 1000 and can’t guarantee one tree will live that long. If you kill an animal, you killed a specimen that had all the time in the planet since we were bacterias to evolve, and only in its lifetime that animal fed from many other creatures and most likely to have less diseases than we humans, because nature itself kills those who are weakers than others so the gene goes on only if it is strong enough (we have medicine to help us in every aspect and even give birth in conditions that would be impossible in the nature). I could go on and on and on, but all you care about is to keep telling you that this clima change is about propaganda, or delutional people, or liers, and no one seems to even think beyond the fence of your house. this planet is not disposable, and nor we are. We can change things for the better and even people that only cares for money will live in much better conditions, and have the chance to have autonomy, see less poor people, more education and care, less indiference in the society, and economy will be much much better. Scientists are not “in” for the money. We people that studied and know the truth you don’t have the guts to face fight so we all stop depending from negotiation only few guys get real profit and start to give the importance on every living person, and living creature too. The politics are just another tool from corporations no matter if they are republicans, democrats, black or white, so wake up ppl!!