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'Unstoppable force' of solar power propels world to 40% clean electricity

(news.sky.com)
177 points belter | 1 comments | 08 Apr 25 10:11 UTC | HN request time: 0s | source
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melling ◴[08 Apr 25 13:43 UTC] No.43621706[source]▶
“ And solar was the fastest-growing electricity source for the 20th year in a row.

It now provides 7% of the world's electricity”

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nasmorn ◴[08 Apr 25 14:31 UTC] No.43622242[source]▶
Exponential growth is unintuitive. More than a full percentage point was added last year and that will continue to accelerate. Even the IAE is predicting 14% share by 2030 and they have underestimated solar for the last 10 years now
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skybrian ◴[08 Apr 25 15:07 UTC] No.43622660[source]▶
The question is when it starts looking more like an S-curve. That’s hard to predict because it depends on energy storage.
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1. jillesvangurp ◴[08 Apr 25 15:36 UTC] No.43623032[source]▶
That's driven by a combination of cost/pricing and innovation. We're nowhere close to the limits of either battery or solar technology. We're looking at decades of further innovation, learning effects, etc. Assuming anything else would probably be a mistake. Many respectable reporting on energy falls into the trap of being too conservative. E.g. the IEA is a repeat offender on this. Many of their estimates for decades ahead get overtaken within years of being issued.

The real question is at what relative cost level it turns into an S-curve. Right now renewables are mostly cheaper than non renewables and transitioning to a lot cheaper. A lot might turn into one or more orders of magnitude. Where does it stop? Two? Three?

What's the ultimate cost of a mwh of power? It's probably a lot lower than what people currently pay. Renewables have a bit of upfront cost but the marginal cost of using the equipment is close to zero.

Lower cost of energy opens up new use cases and drives the market up. Basically it causes people to electrify more things. Even things that we currently think of as too costly. As those things get electrified, they get cheaper. And there are people that make the investment and benefit and people that don't and get pushed out of the market.