Solar Explained (United States Energy Agency)
Solar energy is used throughout the world
Solar energy is used all over the world, and like the United States, global solar electricity generation has increased substantially. Total world solar electricity generation grew from 0.4 billion kWh in 1990 to about 1,280 billion kWh (1.3 trillion kWh) in 2022. China and the United States together accounted for about one-half of total world solar electricity generation in 2022. The top five producers of solar electricity and their percentage shares of world total solar electricity generation in 2022 were:
China–33%
United States–16%
Japan–7%
India–7%
Germany–5%
Last updated: July 12, 2024. Data for the United States for 2023 are preliminary.
The myth of "green" so called "renewable energy" being "cheap" is belied by ignoring the cost of redundancy.
I discussed this issue of full system costs, referencing a scientific paper on the subject:
LFSCOE: The True Cost of Solar and Wind Energy in Texas and Germany in Answer to the Question...
The article makes the point that "free electricity" drives of the cost of
reliable energy, because the O&M costs of reliable systems are not recoverable. Unless we all agree to only use electricity when the sun is shining, this cost is real.
I have been a Democrat, my entire adult life based largely, on my concern for the environment, the future of humanity, human rights and concern with poverty. In the overwhelming share of my personal free time, I study energy and the environment.
I regard it as unfortunate that so many of my fellow Democrats believe solar energy is green and sustainable. It isn't.
The material and land costs are outrageous.
Worse, the solar industry is wholly and entirely dependent on access to fossil fuels. (The two largest solar equipped nations, China and the US, are also the two largest contributors to carbon dioxide accumulations in the planetary atmosphere; this is not a coincidence.) The purpose of the trillion dollar solar industry was never about addressing the use of fossil fuels. It was conceived and funded to attack the only form of sustainable form of primary energy, nuclear energy. It succeeded in this alone, with the result that the planetary atmosphere is collapsing.
I recently produced a graphic on the cost of electricity in US states:
Electricity Prices and Percentage of Energy Provided by Nuclear Energy in US States.
California, the largest solar powered State in the United States has the highest electricity prices in the 48 contiguous states.
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