TECH SPECIAL Top 10 Tech
Trends Transforming Humanity! (2)
2. Solar/Renewables Cheaper
than Coal
We’ve
just exceeded a historic inflection point. 2016 was the year solar and
renewable energy became cheaper than coal.
In
December, the World Economic Forum reported that solar and wind energy is now
the same price or cheaper than new fossil fuel capacity in more than 30
countries.
“As
prices for solar and wind power continue their precipitous fall, two-thirds of
all nations will reach the point known as “grid parity” within a few years,
even without subsidies,” they added.
This
is one of the most important developments in the history of humanity, and this
year marked a number of major milestones for renewable energy.
Here’s
10 data points (stories) I’ve hand-picked to hammer home the historic nature of
this 2016 achievement.
(a)25% of the World’s Power Comes From
Renewables:
REN21, a global renewable energy policy network, published a report showing
that a quarter of the world’s power now comes from renewable energy.
International investment in renewable energy reached $286 billion last year
(with solar accounting for over $160b of this), and it’s accelerating.
b)In India, Solar is Now Cheaper Than
Coal:
An
amazing milestone indeed, and India is now on track to deploy >100 gigawatts
of solar power by 2022.
c) The UK is Generating More Energy From
Solar Than Coal:
For the first time in history, this year the U.K. has produced an estimated
6,964 GWh of electricity from solar cells, 10% higher than the 6,342 GWh
generated by coal.
d) Coal
Plants Being Replaced by Solar Farms:
The Nanticoke Generating Station in
Ontario, once North America’s largest coal plant, will be turned into a solar
farm.
e) Coal
Will Never Recover:
The coal industry, once the backbone of U.S. energy, is
fading fast on account of renewables like solar and wind. Official and expert
reports now state that it will never recover (e.g. coal power generation in
Texas is down from 39% in early 2015 to 24.8% in May 2016).
f) Scotland
Generated 106% Energy from Wind:
This year, high winds boosted renewable
energy output to provide 106% of Scotland’s electricity needs for a day.
g) Costa
Rica Ran on Renewables for 2+ Months:
The country ran on 100% renewable
energy for 76 days.
h) Google
to Run 100% on Renewable Energy:
Google has announced its entire global
business will be powered by renewable energy in 2017.
i) Las
Vegas Meets Goal of 100% Power by Renewables:
Las Vegas is now the largest
city in the country to run entirely on renewable energy.
j) Tesla’s
Gigafactory:
Tesla’s $5 billion structure in Nevada will produce 500,000
lithium ion batteries annually and Tesla’s Model III vehicle. It is now over 30
percent complete… the 10 million square foot structure is set to be done by
2020. Musk projected that a total of 100 Gigafactories could provide enough
storage capacity to run the entire planet on renewables.
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