Renewable energy is now a feasible mainstream source of energy 

Renewable energy is a success story all over the world and recently a study proved it.

According to a joint study by German-based Energy Watch Group and the Lappeenranta University of Technology in Finland, transitioning to 100 percent renewable electricity is feasible at every hour throughout the year and more cost-effective than existing mainstream energy sources such as fossil and nuclear.
 

The U.S. keeps breaking solar power records

Top performing U.S. cities, California and Massachusetts continuously break their own solar and renewable energy records. Areas that weren’t open to solar power before, like Nevada and Florida, are now hot solar markets. 

Industrial scale solar is also taking off around the country. All over the country, large-scale industrial solar gardens are under construction. The ones on the California Nevada border generate so much power, it influences wholesale electricity price in those states.

Worldwide last year, Costa Rica ran 300 days on electricity generated solely from renewable energy. Norway and Iceland get most of their power from renewables. China added around 54 gigawatts (GW) of solar PV capacity in 2017. Bringing their total amount to 120 GW PV capacity, China has installed three times more than any other country. India is catching up too. The Indian government announced plans to surpass 200 GW of renewable generation by 2022. 

According to financial analysts, by 2020 renewables will have become the cheapest form of power generation. That’s a year and a half away.
 

We can create a global power system based on renewable energy

A global power system fully based on renewable energy is no longer a long-term vision, but a tangible reality. Critics often use lack of storage, as well as solar and wind fluctuations as their major argument to hold on to the old system. This groundbreaking study by the Lappeenranta University of Technology (LUT) and the Energy Watch Group (EWG) refutes this argument.

This is the first time a study of this kind was undertaken. Its results prove that the existing solar, wind, hydropower, and battery storage technologies are able to generate enough power to easily power the whole world. They also predict that by 2050, renewables will account for 94 percent of all electricity generation. That’s just a little more than 30 years from now. If political conditions are favorable, it can happen faster than that. 

The study also claims that 100 percent renewable electricity is more cost-effective than the existing system of power generation, which is largely based on fossil fuels and nuclear energy. 
 

Solar power will account for 69 percent of power generation

By 2050, solar panels and battery storage will drive most of the electricity generated worldwide, due to rapidly falling costs. Solar power generation is projected to reach 69 percent of the world’s total output, wind energy is expected to grow to 18 percent, hydropower will make up 8 percent, and bioenergy will account for 2 percent of the total electricity by then.

The study also states that a global transition to a 100 percent renewable electricity system will create 36 million jobs by 2050. This number is nearly double the 19 million people employed worldwide in renewable energy in 2015.
 

There is no reason to invest in fossil fuel any longer

After laying out a region by region roadmap of how the world can achieve this goal easily, the authors of the study don’t hold back their conclusion. The study states that there is no reason to invest any single dollar in fossil fuel or nuclear power production. It also proves that energy transition is no longer a question of technical feasibility or economic viability, but of political will. The science has proven that it is feasible. It is now the turn of politicians, businesses and civil society to push for immediate actions to help the world easily transition to renewable energy. 

The study states in its conclusion that to ensure a smooth, fast, and cost-effective transition to 100 percent renewable energy, governments need to adopt national legislative acts, which allows the sufficient flow of private investment in renewable energy and storage technologies. Although public financing is indispensable, private investment is instrumental in enabling competition and rapid scaling-up of the renewable energy sector.

Then the study, among other recommendations, calls for a global end to fossil fuel and nuclear energy subsidies, and tax exemptions for investments in renewable energy.
 

Not exploring solar power is like throwing money away 

It is something that we already knew in the industry. Now enough people around the globe are using solar power that the price of the panels has dropped dramatically, installation costs go down because of advancements and competition. We have reached a point in the industry that if a person, a company, a city, or even a country doesn’t at least explore going solar, then they are basically throwing money away every month.

We are not saying you have to go solar today, but you should at least explore it. We have a really easy way for you to check too. Just visit HahaSmart, and try out our Price Checker Tool yourself. All you have to do is enter your address, and your average monthly electric bill and we do the rest. You can not only see how much a solar panel system would cost in your area. Enter the information and see how much you can save in the next 20 years.

For information relating to going solar don’t forget to visit our solar blog section for more handy guides and articles.