The exponential growth of solar power will change the world
An energy-rich future is within reach
Leaders June 22nd 2024
- The exponential growth of solar power will change the world
- AI will transform the character of warfare
- Emmanuel Macron’s project of reform is at risk
- How to tax billionaires—and how not to
- Javier Milei’s next move could make his presidency—or break it
- India should liberate its cities and create more states
It is 70 years since AT&T’s Bell Labs unveiled a new technology for turning sunlight into power. The phone company hoped it could replace the batteries that run equipment in out-of-the-way places. It also realised that powering devices with light alone showed how science could make the future seem wonderful; hence a press event at which sunshine kept a toy Ferris wheel spinning round and round.
Today solar power is long past the toy phase. Panels now occupy an area around half that of Wales, and this year they will provide the world with about 6% of its electricity—which is almost three times as much electrical energy as America consumed back in 1954. Yet this historic growth is only the second-most-remarkable thing about the rise of solar power. The most remarkable is that it is nowhere near over.
Already have an account?Log in
Get the full story
Explore all our independent journalism with a one-month free trial. Cancel any time
Get startedMore from Leaders
Simple steps to stop people dying from heatwaves
As much of the world roasts, don’t despair
Nigel Farage’s claim that NATO provoked Russia is naive and dangerous
It is also a wilful misreading of history
AI will transform the character of warfare
Technology will make war faster and more opaque. It could also prove destabilising
