- Solar panels are still not the cheapest clean energy option but their prices are constantly dropping.
2. Solar energy is called intermittent energy source because Sun doesn’t shine all day long.
3. Solar energy needs backup source of energy to provide power all day long.
4. Adding solar panels increases the value of your property.
5. Solar energy is readily available source of energy as long as our Sun continues to exist.
6. Solar energy is the most abundant form of energy available on our planet.
7. Solar panels need to improve their current efficiency (15-20%).
8. China is the country that leads the world in installed solar power capacity with approximately one third of global installed solar power capacity (2021 data).
9. Using more solar energy is an ideal green energy solution for countries with plenty of sunshine throughout the year.
10. California leads the way in installed solar power capacity in United States.
11. Many countries offer incentives and other benefits for new solar energy projects.
12. Solar power plants require large areas to be built on because of their relatively low efficiency.
13. Solar power plants have significant water requirements.
14. Saudi Arabia, the world’s largest oil producer, plans using lot more solar energy in years to come.
15. Solar energy is according to the global public opinion the most popular renewable energy source in the world.
16. Solar energy has enormous potential that could easily satisfy global demand for energy.
17. Solar energy should lead global transition to clean, renewable energy sources.
18. Using more solar energy could improve our energy security.
19. Using more solar energy could improve our energy independence.
20. Using more solar energy could decrease our need for foreign fuel import.
21. Solar energy technologies still need to develop sufficiently to become more efficient.</p>
22. Solar energy is still more expensive than fossil fuels.
23. Solar energy is more expensive that wind energy.
24. Solar cells convert sunlight into electricity using the photoelectric effect.
25. The first solar cell was constructed by Charles Fritts in the 1880s.
26. A material called silicon is the main ingredient of solar panels.
27. Solar energy is not only used to create electricity but also for heating purposes.
28. Solar power accounted for 3.6% of global electricity generation (2021 data).
29. Solar energy sector needs strong and continuous political and technological support.
30. Solar energy research needs larger funds to make solar panels cheaper and more efficient.
31. Solar energy needs to overcome powerful fossil fuel lobbies.
32. Solar energy technologies are constantly developing and improving.
33. Solar panel is basically a device assembled of many photovoltaic cells.
34. Solar panels last for 20+ years.
35. Solar panels need to be faced directly to sunlight to harness as much solar energy as possible.
36. Solar panels need to be equipped with adequate overheating protection.
37. Solar panels require almost no maintenance.
38. The average home solar system should be able to eliminate 18 tons of greenhouse gas emissions each year.
39. Solar energy is free source of energy because nobody owns the Sun.
40. Solar power plants have high upfront costs.
41. It is expected that solar power will power quarter of global energy by 2050.
42. World has already installed 1 TW of solar power capacity (2022 data).
43. Solar energy can be also used to power our vehicles.
44. The current solar cars are still not commercial and are primarily built to compete in solar car races.
45. Solar car named Holland’s Nuna 2 was able to reach the respectable speed of 105 MPH.</p>
46. In United States, over 3% of U.S. electricity comes from solar energy (2022 data).
47. Solar energy industry is nonetheless the fastest growing industry in the United States.
48. Bhadla Solar Park, India is the largest solar farm in the world (2022 data).
49. China is the world’s largest solar panel producer.
50. U.S. solar panel manufacturing is way behind China because China has cheaper labor force.
51. The much spoken Desertec project has the main intention of turning Sahara’s vast sunlight into electricity.
52. Solar hot water systems use solar energy to heat water.
53. Solar hot water systems are the cheapest in China.
54. A total of 776 operating solar power plants, with an installed capacity about 15,206 megawatts, are located in California (2022 data).
55. Nanoshells have excellent potential to make solar panels more efficient.
56. Solar power is an excellent clean energy option for many rural areas in Africa.
57. Solar power plants are built large because it takes approximately one square kilometer for every 30-60 megawatts of generated solar energy.
58. Solar panels are relatively easy to install.
59. Solar panels do not lose much efficiency over the years.
60. Solar panels can be recycled.
61. In US, the average salary of solar power installer is around $45,000.
62. Solar power engineer can earn close to $100,000 per year.
63. Even the cold Russia has good solar energy potential. Approximately 30 percent of the Russian territory can be effectively used for solar power generation.
64. Solar energy is excellent clean energy option to diversify our energy portfolio.
65. The EU generated a record 12% of its electricity from solar from May to August 2022, helping to avoid a potential €29 billion in fossil gas imports.
66. Solar energy needs adequate storage solution to be reliable. One of the most talked about solar energy storage solutions is using molten salts.
67. The cost of solar panels has decreased by more than 80% in the past 20 years.
68. New Jersey is nation’s second ranked state in installed solar power capacity, behind the leader California. In 2022, the state passed the 4-gigawatt milestone for installed solar power, enough to provide electricity to over 500000 households.
69. One of the biggest shocks in global solar power industry was the unexpected bankruptcy of large U.S. solar company Solyndra back in 2011.
70. The US solar energy jobs increased by 9% in 2021.
71. Solar energy industry currently employs around 255,000 Americans (2022 data).
72. The state of Texas has the richest solar resources in the nation.
73. Solar cells were used as a back-up power source to the Vanguard I satellite in 1958.
74. Solar energy is the best renewable energy option for Australia because Australia has excellent insolation values and plenty of sunshine throughout the year. Australia currently has solar capacity of 28.2 gigawatts. (2022 data).
75. Australia has the highest average solar radiation of any continent.
76. Buying used solar panels can be a good deal because solar panels lose very little of their efficiency throughout their lifetime.
77. Solar energy is the most popular renewable energy source in United States among the general public.
78. The U.S. has a solar project pipeline of 96 GW through 2025.
79. The competition is constantly growing in global solar energy market, especially as solar panel prices continue to decline.
80. In 2021, the solar industry generated nearly $33 billion of private investment in the American economy.
81. It is difficult to foresee whether United States can become world’s largest solar energy market in future by overtaking China.
82. If U.S. were to pass federal renewable energy standard this would give strong boost to U.S. solar energy sector as it would likely attract plenty of new investors.
83. India’s solar energy potential is estimated to be at around 500GW.
84. Canada’s province Ontario has potential to produce approximately 100 gigawatts of solar power.
85. It is expected that over the next 10 years the European solar thermal will grow on average at a rate of 15% per annum (2021 data).
86. In 2021, European Union had around 166 gigawatts of installed solar capacity. This number could reach 1000 gigawatts by 2030.
87. Investment in large and small-scale solar projects reached $120 billion in 2022.
88. The scientists have calculated that covering only 4% of the world’s deserts with solar panels would be enough to satisfy all of the world’s electricity demand.
89. Solar power is still more expensive (without incentives) than coal and natural gas but the differences in price continues to decrease.
89. Global solar energy production has been growing by more than 20 percent each year since 2002.
90. Solar cells were first used to power spacecrafts and orbiting satellites.
91. The state of Tennessee is one of the nation’s largest solar equipment manufacturers.
92. The 2022 Pew Research Center survey shows that 72% of Americans believe that federal government should encourage wind and solar power production.
93. Terms „solar energy“ and „solar power“ aren’t synonyms because solar power refers to conversion of solar energy is form of sunlight into electricity (in most cases by using photovoltaics).
94. Texas added 6,060 MW of solar power in 2021, which represents 25% of total capacity added during the year.
95. Japan is forecast to have 111GW of installed solar by 2025.
96. The largest formation of solar cells are called arrays, which are made up of thousands of individual cells.
97. The three main types of concentrating solar power systems are: linear concentrator, dish/engine, and power tower systems.
98. Concentrated solar thermal (CST) uses lenses and reflectors to concentrate sunlight, heating a fluid such as water or oil and producing steam to drive a turbine.
99. If all the sunshine hitting the Sahara was converted into electricity it would be enough to power Europe 7,000 times over.
100. Our sun won’t die for at least the next 5 billion years.