From Guest Blogger Adam Groff — Where Is Solar Energy Most Popular?
Harnessing the sun’s energy has been around in one form or the other since the mid 1800’s when it was first referred to as solar photovoltaic technology.
Now, almost two centuries later, solar energy is the most predominant alternative power source in the world next to its breezy brother, wind energy.
So, which countries are making the most of their sunny days by converting sunlight into electricity?
Über Solar in Germany
When it comes to leading the world in solar power usage and efficiency, Deutschland takes the German chocolate cake. The country of Germany can produce upwards of 35 gigawatts (GW) of solar electricity annually.
To put that number into perspective, one gigawatt of electricity is enough to power a town of 50,000 residents for up to a year. That means 35 GW is roughly 4% of Germany’s total power production for the entire country. In fact, there are entire German cities that run solely on solar like Sonnenschiff, which produces more solar energy than it can actually use.
Sunny Italy
In terms of solar power markets, Italy is growing by leaps, bounds, and sunrays. Italy has the capacity to produce around 22 GW of solar power annually. And, thanks to government incentives, Italy is steadily continuing its alternative energy growth.
Solar power energy usage has become so widespread and efficient that the Italian government run solar power sector employs roughly 120,000 people from photovoltaic designers to solar panel installers and system operators.
Japanese Power
Considering Japan is one of the leading manufacturers of solar panels in the world, it’s no wonder it’s one of the fastest growing countries in terms of solar power usage. Japan’s capacity for solar power is roughly 18 GW annually with a projected goal of 28 GW by the year 2020.
As far as solar innovation goes, Japan is the world leader. Many Japanese solar technology companies are making conscious efforts to implement solar energy into everyday life by producing solar panels that resemble anything from plants to rooftop billboards to flexible solar panel shingles and siding.
The State of Solar Energy in the U.S.
Not far behind in the solar power forefront is the United States.
The U.S. has the capacity to produce roughly 7 GW of solar energy annually. The Midwest and Western states of Arizona, California, Texas, Nevada, and New Mexico are doing the brunt of solar electricity production making up nearly 75% of all the solar power in the U.S.
The reason behind lower solar usage in the U.S. can be attributed to less than attractive government incentives and America’s unwavering dependence on oil and nuclear power, but times are changing and sunnier perspectives are being taken. In fact, the United States solar energy growth is on the upswing with plants already in production that will produce an additional 4 GW of electricity within the next year.
In fact, according to the U.S. Department of Energy, solar power has been expanding rapidly in the States by about 40% a year. Staying on this path will surely put America back in the solar power race while ensuring future energy independence.
So, from the gigawatt goliath of Germany to the innovative solar styles of Japan, there are definitely sunny days ahead for solar energy.
And, one day soon, maybe your town will be run by the sun.
About the Author: Adam Groff is a freelance writer and sun-seeking creator of content. He writes on various topics including home improvement, hosted voip, and the benefits of alternative energy for the planet as well as the wallet.
A gigawatt or GW is an instantaneous measure of power lasting abt a second. So I presume the author meant to say “gigawatt-hours” or GWH. Even so, the sun does not shine 24/7 on any place on earth. At least half the year it is night. So if 50 GWH is enough electricity for a 50,000 population for a year, 50 GWH of daytime-only solar electricity is not enough unless half that energy is stored for use when there is no sun. Large-scale storage is not currently happening in Germany. Since German winters are mostly cloudy even in daytime, Germany reportedly bought the majority of its winter electricity both day and night from surplus French nuclear generation.
In other words, “net zero” is not anything like “100% supply”. Let’s try to speak and write accurately and precisely when describing what we accomplish.
My house has solar water heating collectors and 2 days of hot water storage but only about 60% of our annual hot water comes from solar, simply because it’s cloudy here most of the winter, sometimes cloudy for 10 consecutive days. We also have solar space heating but only about 25% of our annual heat comes from solar because most heating occurs at night when it’s colder outside and there’s no sun. My office also has solar electric AND 10 days of electricity storage in batteries, so 100% of my office plug loads are supplied by solar. These are examples of how to be accurate and precise.
There are a few important keys to increasing “solar fraction”, or how much energy we use comes from solar. First and foremost is storage, the more the better. Second is re-arranging as much as possible our energy usage so it coincides with available sun. For example, on a sunny day after many cloudy days, I often wait until afternoon or evening to shower or do dishes. That way I’m using the solar heated water rather than forcing my water heater to use conventional energy. As another example, I do all my tool battery recharging after my office batteries are fully solar charged, thereby using “surplus solar power” here at home instead of selling it to the local utility.
I am an energy consultant and instructor. When I assess net-metered solar electric systems, I do it monthly so solar surpluses common in my region during late summer and fall are not applied against deficits in winter and spring. I do this because storage has limits. Almost no conventional storage effectively stores energy for many months. There are huge losses in long-term storage, whether storing food, money or energy. Long-term energy storage is not usually physicially possible. So it is illogical and unhelpful to describe net-metered “storage” (where a utility offers a credit for surplus energy part of a year) as real energy storage. In fact, in most of Canada and northern USA, including my location, electric utilities are “winter peaking”, experiencing their largest customer demand during pre-dawn cold winter mornings. Best way to deal with that problem is more insulation and airtightness in our structures, not just solar + energy storage.
We need to evolve into wiser and more practical users of energy, especially compared to now. Energy is a physical thing, governed by laws of physics. And energy comes in many forms, not just electricity. Solar heating, for instance, is better when using a direct sunbeam, as I do when heating my house or my water. Same with lighting. Right now I am typing this using a solar-electric-powered computer and office, but lighting supplied with 100% daylight. Daylight is solar too! Even hang-drying laundry outside is a form of solar. It would take a 4 kW array to power a typical electric dryer but I routinely dry loads of laundry on a simple low-cost clothesline. Both will produce the exact same result!
John,
What batteries are you using? How are they holding up? You are doing much of what I am doing.
Thank you for further informing me and the rest of the 2GreenEnergy readers on GWH verses GW as well as the various forms of alternative energy and energy storage. I will use this information to more accurately write future articles on the subject matter. I appreciate your time, John.