The future is sunny for solar power.
According a new report from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), California now generates 5 per cent of its electricity from the sun, the most of any state in the U.S and more than all others combined.
Most encouraging is that California’s strong solar performance is part of nationwide and global trend that sees increasing focus placed on generating power from solar installations.
Photovoltaic (PV) panel installations grew by 14 per cent worldwide since last year, and Germany (27% per cent of the world’s solar capacity) already receives 7 per cent of its annual electricity from such projects.
Canada, however, has yet to catch on. While the construction of larger scale solar projects is on the rise, they’re responsible for less than 1 per cent of the country’s power output.
The environmental benefits are clear, but harnessing the sun’s power makes economical sense too. Solar power is expected to become the cheapest source of energy in most areas of the world in the next 10 years.
Just one more reason to wish for a sunny summer ahead.
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