Infographic: Solar Power on the Ascent
Infographic: Solar Power on the Ascent
At the global level, solar power is growing by leaps and bounds. Even so, nearly two-fifths of world solar generation occurs in China.
If all you know about the energy industry comes from official pronouncements from Washington or the reporting in American media, it would be easy to believe that solar power has screeched to a halt. Certainly, Federal support for renewable energy has stopped, and organized groups are working to stop the construction of new solar farms in various parts of the United States.
But the global perspective tells a different story. The energy consultancy Ember recently released a dataset of electric power production by source for countries ranging from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe and most places in between. For the years from 2014 to 2024, solar power surged from 197 TWh to 2,129 TWh—more than a factor of 10. Most of that astonishing growth is due to China: Not only is that country a major manufacturer of solar panels, but China itself has grown its solar power production so enormously that it is difficult to compare to other countries. Though we tried to do so below.
But the global perspective tells a different story. The energy consultancy Ember recently released a dataset of electric power production by source for countries ranging from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe and most places in between. For the years from 2014 to 2024, solar power surged from 197 TWh to 2,129 TWh—more than a factor of 10. Most of that astonishing growth is due to China: Not only is that country a major manufacturer of solar panels, but China itself has grown its solar power production so enormously that it is difficult to compare to other countries. Though we tried to do so below.
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