For decades, solar energy has been highlighted as a promising player in the energy mix. According to the University of Tennessee and the Institute of Agriculture, if the energy from sunlight hitting the Texas land surface could be converted into electricity, it would generate 300 times the total energy production of all power plants of the world.
According to UN figure, by 2040 the share of renewable energy in electricity generation is expected to increase from 25% today to more than 40%. Of all renewable energy sources, solar photovoltaic energy has the greatest productive potential. A study published in the International Journal of Sustainable Energy Planning and Management estimates the annual technical potential for electricity generation from current solar energy at 613 PWh per year (613,000 billion watts).
Solar energy has advantages for future stability:
Today we can affirm that solar energy is shining and rising; it has become a key asset within the energetic sector, among other reasons, due to its competitive advantages over other types of energy.
The construction of solar plants represents a great opportunity for the development of the communities and the reactivation of the post-pandemic economies through the creation of stable and quality employment, vital elements in order to ensure a just energy transition.
Taking advantage of this energy potential is essential to meet the targets set in the Paris Agreement to reduce the share of CO₂ emissions derived from energy production.
Technological advances in recent decades undoubtedly explain this spectacular increase in the productivity of solar photovoltaic energy.
Prices for solar energy are more affordable today
In order to reduce energy prices, photovoltaic technology is one of the key elements. It is one of the most important aspects of lowering short-term electricity prices.
The cost of building photovoltaic installations has reduced by more than half in recent years. The growth of this technology has made it possible to achieve excellent levels of efficiency, which has lowered installation and maintenance costs, partly due to the great global competition for tenders in the industry.
Several compelling reasons justify the promotion of solar energy to recover the economy. On the one hand, the sector has been among the least damaged by confinement and will therefore need a narrower window of time than other sectors to regain its cruising speed. On the other hand, promoting green energies would be a sustainable way out of the crisis and would facilitate the ecological transition, a goal included in the plans of the administrations and governments of many countries.
Society is increasingly aware that renewables are the best option, and their inclusion in the mix significantly lowers the price of electricity in a stable manner, which increases the competitiveness and strength of our economy. For this reason, these new auctions must consider the impulse and promotion of new energy models, as well as economic and social strategies with solar energy as a driver of these objectives.
The world supports solar energy for a sustainable change
By 2021, mainland China was expected to exceed 60 GW in solar photovoltaic installations for the country’s renewable energy growth.
The U.S. market will install 27 GW, and by 2030 they expect to triple that figure. India’s highly cost-sensitive market is open to continuing on a sustainable journey thanks to high investment in solar panels. Given the projects accumulated in India, it is expected that by mid-2022 there will be approximately 16 GW.
In Europe, there are several projects tendered by households and companies, and the awarded bid prices in some cases have been high enough to accommodate a cost increase.
The solar supply chain is entering a new phase with an increased focus on profitability, technology leadership, and consolidation. Acquisition concentration is also occurring on the development side, with the arrival of large non-traditional solar players influencing procurement strategies and creating less price-sensitive market dynamics.
Solar energy not only helps us with the environment or with individual economic savings, it provides stability for economies worldwide and the positive changes needed to mitigate poverty, scarcity and overall lower quality of life.
The exponential growth of advanced technologies will allow us to close the scarcity gap and increasingly steep levels of social inequality. Affordable and sustainable energy through solar photovoltaic technology can be the beginning of the end of energy poverty and the beginning of a world of abundance that all societies need, as well as a forceful and necessary response to emerge stronger from the health crisis in which we find ourselves.