12 May 2017
Bright forecast ahead for solar energy?
Solar costs continue to fall, recently hitting less than 3 cents/kWh in some parts of the world. But the scaling back of incentives and constraints of the existing electricity infrastructure could hinder future expansion
While photovoltaic (PV) solar power only generated about 1% of the total electricity produced globally in 2015, it represented about 20% of new capacity additions. Growth has been impressive and looks likely to continue. The International Solar Alliance has set a target of at least 3000 gigawatts (GW), or three terawatts (TW) of additional solar power capacity by 2030, up from the current installed capacity of around 300 GW. Yet some experts believe even the most optimistic projections have under-estimated the actual deployment of PV over the last decade, and say the annual potential of solar energy far exceeds the world's energy consumption. In mid-April, scientists from the US Department o
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