The International Energy Agency (IEA) has indicated how much of an impact solar power will have on the world in future, suggesting this could become the main source of energy by 2050.
IEA figures suggest solar could provide more than 27 per cent of the electricity produced by 2050. However, it also estimates that electricity use will grow, even rivalling oil as the most common energy carrier.
In order to reach climate targets by 2050, renewable energy must make up around 68 per cent of electricity generation, states the organisation. Solar is set to play a key role in this scenario, and this industry is already experiencing rapid growth.
Conservative estimates indicate that by 2017-18, the solar industry will be able to produce around 100GW of energy per year, with solar storage facilities helping this to become an important source.
These facilities are already in place in Spain and others are under construction in the US, South Africa and Chile. They are able to be switched on and off and store the energy created from the sun, so they can continue to provide power during the night when the sun is out, as well as during daylight hours.
Solar PV panels are also becoming more and more popular, with estimates suggesting by 2050 these could generate around 16 per cent of the world’s energy needs. These can also be supplemented with solar hot water systems, which generate hot water. This reduces the amount of electricity needed to run other items in your house, as water heating is one of the home’s biggest users of power.
No matter which way you look at it, it seems the solar power movement is not going away. So why not take the opportunity to go solar now?
Apricus’ friendly team are available to give you advice about evacuated tube solar hot water systems, which mean you can jump on the solar train now. Or visit our home page to watch video to learn more about how a solar hot water system works.