Big Solar: The Sun’s Rising Power

“The Sun Always Shines on TV”, a famous Europop song in the 1980s, could be re-released for the 21st century, just slightly modified: nowadays, the sun always shines on PV.

Photovoltaic solar panels have become a symbol of renewable energy and a greener future – unfortunately, they still represent less than 0.1 percent of global energy production.

But growth is tremendous. Solar capacity in Germany, the world’s leading PV nation, will double in 2010 from 10GW to 20 GW, estimates the Swiss bank UBS. And despite Germany’s moderate climate, these solar panels do already produce massive amounts of electricity.

Figures from the European Energy Exchange show that solar power accounted for 10 percent of Germany’s electricity consumption during midday peak load on more than ten days in July 2010producing some 7GWh of solar power, comparable to the power output of seven nuclear power plants.

Falling prices have been one reason for this explosive growth. Chinese companies have entered the solar panel market and gained a market share of more than 50 percent.
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