SOLAR ENERGY LIGHTS THE WAY

WHY DO WE NEED TO PUSH HARDER FOR MORE SOLAR POWER?

 

There's plenty available: The Earth receives about 1,366 watts of direct solar radiation per square meter. If you don't know what this number means, just trust us when we say it is an incredible amount of energy.

 

It is drastically under used: Currently, the amount of solar energy that goes to waste is about 99.99%! Homes with solar energy in the United States hover somewhere below 1% of the total.

 

Solar Energy is a job creator: According to the American Solar Energy Society's Green Collar Jobs Report, renewable energy and energy efficiency sectors can generate more than 9 million jobs and $1trillion dollars in additional revenue for the United States

 

A rapidly growing field: - U.S. Photovoltaic Solar energy installations grew from 152 megawatts of power installed in the first quarter of 2010 to 776 megawatts in the fourth quarter of 2011. Year over year increases were 887 megawatts in 2010 to 1,855 megawatts in 2011, a growth rate of 209%.

 

We don't need much room for it: Imagine the large swaths of rainforest we destroy each year for wood, the territory we fight over for oil, the cities we put at risk with nuclear power, or the water and land destroyed by fracking. Traditional energy resources call for the destruction and occupation of large amounts of land. Yet in the coming energy revolution, not much land will be needed at all. The total surface area required to power the world with solar energy is only 366,375 kilometers.  Check out the total amount of surface area below needed to power the world.