Solar power: where we are

When I was in middle school, around eleven years old, my parents decided to install solar panels in our home in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. At the time, this idea felt revolutionary – if those magical panels on our roof could generate electricity, simply by facing the sun, why were we just then getting them? Shouldn’t they be, de-facto, on every roof, house and car alike? Wasn’t it obvious?

Of course, this idea is not as simple as my grade-school self would have liked. For instance, despite their long-run cost saving abilities, the upfront cost of solar panel installation can be high. According to the Solar Energy Industry Association, the cost for installing an average-sized residential system is estimated to be around $20,000.  Further complications arise when we consider factors such as the often painfully tumultuous political landscape surrounding climate change, the wishes of the power-holding utility companies, and conflicts over land use (what land should be used for agricultural farms versus solar farms?).

However, eleven-year-old-Marie had the right spirit: solar panels are an exciting and promising avenue for sustainable energy generation.

To provide a motivating example of the just how powerful solar power can be, we should take a look at Michael Mobbs’s house: it is half an hour’s walk from the Sydney Opera House and off the grid. 

Solar panels at Michael Mobbs’ Sustainable House

The above image shows the home’s two solar hot water panels surrounded by fifteen solar panels. As an interesting comparison, the hot water panels are about 94% efficient and the solar panels are about 22% efficient, where efficiency denotes the amount of radiation converted to power.

For 25 years, this system has kept annual energy, water, and sewage bills to $300 or below (the house is still connected to gas, which is where that money goes – there is just not enough roof space for solar to make electricity for the cooktop and oven.

While it would be a far stretch from the truth to say that this is representative of homes in the region, what we can say is this: solar power is showing increased potential and prominence as a provider of clean energy. 

The current state of South Australia is a prime example. In the last year, South Australia proved itself to stand out: solar and wind – the region’s only renewable energy sources – accounted for roughly 63% of local generation, becoming the first gigawatt scale grid to have such high levels of generation from these sources. 

Furthermore, in 2021, there were 180 total days where renewables were able to meet 100% of the operational demand. With these record-breaking achievements, South Australia has a bright future with aspirations to reach 100% net renewables by 2030. As you may assume from their track record, this is not just an empty promise: the Department of Energy and Mining is actively working towards this goal with efforts including increasing large-scale renewable energy storage abilities, promoting distributed energy resources (e.g. rooftop solar), and developing clean hydrogen production.

In a broader lens, Australia as a whole is making notable strides towards renewables. For instance, in 2020, renewable sources (solar, wind, and hydro) accounted for 24% of Australia’s total electricity generation. Solar power accounted for over a third of this renewable energy, making up approximately 9% of Australia’s electricity generation. 

We have reason to believe its power will continue to grow: for the last ten years, small-scale solar generation in Australia has grown by an average of 28% per year. Furthermore, while large-scale solar only accounted for 3% of electricity generation in 2020, this is up by 1,268% from 2016.

With this question, a natural next step is to ask how Australia’s numbers perform on a global scale. As is shown in the below infographic, Australia has the highest wind and solar portion of electricity generation in the Asia/Oceania region and only 10 countries globally perform better in this metric.

Global wind and solar power percentages in 2021; from Ember.

One country of strong interest for comparison is the United States. With constant debates about climate change, the US famously pulling out of the Paris agreement, and much in between, I am constantly left wondering: does our government care about environmental progress?

Despite shaky media representations of American attitudes towards climate change, a 2021 study by the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication found that on average, 77% of American adults supported funding research on renewable energy sources. The state-level data is shown in the map below.

State-level opinions regarding funding renewable energy research; from the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication 2021 study.

While these opinions are promising, they are not enough to claim progress – what is actually being done to promote renewable energy? Just like the results of the Yale opinion study, the answer to this question varies from state to state. Currently, 20 states have some form of a 100% clean energy goals to be achieved by 2050. My home state of Louisiana is on this list, seeking to have net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.  

Unfortunately, Alabama – the state I have gone to school and lived in for the past five years – is not. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), “Alabama does not have a renewable portfolio standard or a voluntary renewable energy goal but does encourage energy savings and efficiency.” 

Also according to the EIA, during 2020, 12% of our in-state electricity came from renewable sources: this is roughly ¼ of the portion of South Australia’s electricity generation derived from renewables. Solar power made up only 2% of this renewable energy generation, making it only ~0.24% of the state’s total 2020 electricity generation. https://www.eia.gov/state/analysis.php

Focusing on residential solar power, the Solar Energy Industries Association has ranked Alabama 48th in the nation – we only fall above North Dakota and South Dakota. https://www.al.com/news/2021/06/alabama-last-among-southern-states-in-solar-power-but-change-could-be-on-the-horizon.html

We do better with regards to large scale solar power – efforts include the River Bend Solar commercial farm, Lafayette Solar Farm (pictured below) , and Covington Electric cooperative. 

A large scale solar farm by Lafayette, AL; from al.com

 However, even with these projects, solar power is still only a tiny fraction of our energy: we evidently have notable room to grow, especially when we compare our figures to those of South Australia.

The environmental motivations for increasing solar power go beyond reducing carbon dioxide emissions. An often under-appreciated benefit of solar power is the amount of water that it can save: one report by researchers at Duke University estimates that the amount of water used for solar (and wind!) electricity generation is only 1 to 2 percent of that of coal/natural gas generation. 

Another benefit of renewable sources of energy such as solar and wind can come from “making energy where we are”: this can help to keep money in local economies and remove political distortions from the energy supply. The ties between energy supply and political tensions have been underscored during the recent Ukraine/Russia conflict: with many countries sanctioning Russia’s fuel exports, prices have been increasing drastically. Furthermore, a dependence on Russia for energy has left countries such as Germany in a hard spot: it is hard to work against a country that you rely on for 49% of your gas supply. 

Amid this crisis, it has now been twelve years since my first real-life interaction with solar panels. Although my blind optimism has faded, I maintain hope for a future of environmental and political sustainability found through renewable energy. 

Bonus Image: Last summer, I drove through the American midwest - there were more windmills than I had ever seen; I had this picture taken (on a disposable camera) to commemorate my excitement.