Thinktank says solar has been fastest-growing energy source for last 20 years, but remains dwarfed by hydro power
Archived version: archive.is/…/clean-energy-powered-40-of-global-el…
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Tar_alcaran@sh.itjust.works 1 week ago
It’s very annoying that they don’t mention the blatantly obviously problem of how solar generation is distributed. Without significantly more storage (day-to-night) and longer term storage (summer-to-winter), power consumption has basically reached the maximum amount of solar power generation it can accomodate in most western countries.
Adding more solar panels can’t “raise the peak” any further. We’re already seeing more and more curtailment during solar-energy peaks. Additional solar power can only contribute in “widening the peak”, which is MUCH less usefull, since it necessarily discards the most efficient and most productive periods. Of course, they’re still useful in winter, but they’re also much less effective in winter.
Solar will always be kind of a niche, wind and hyrdro are the real powerhouses for anyone who doesn’t live near the equator.