Renewables provided 55 percent of all new electrical capacity worldwide last year, the most ever. In some regions, solar is the cheapest source of power, and it will only get cheaper. Bloomberg New Energy Finance estimates that a watt of power from ground-mounted solar will drop a further 36 percent by 2025.
Solar's appeal isn't just one of cost; it's the most democratized and decentralized power source. Solar systems sometimes feature a single panel; others line hundreds of acres of desert. Homeowners can put panels on roofs, companies and schools on carports, and governments on roadway signs, and the military can use them as the basis for portable power plants.
Solar's appeal isn't just one of cost; it's the most democratized and decentralized power source. Solar systems sometimes feature a single panel; others line hundreds of acres of desert. Homeowners can put panels on roofs, companies and schools on carports, and governments on roadway signs, and the military can use them as the basis for portable power plants.
This stretch of road is covered with solar panel cells developed by Colas SA's Wattway unit, a subsidiary of Bouygues SA, in the village of Tourouvre au Perche, France, on Monday, Jan. 9, 2017. The 2,800 square meters of solar panels are expected to generate 280 kilowatts at peak, generating enough to power all the public lighting in a town of 5,000 for a year, according to the company.
Photographer: Marlene Awaad/Bloomberg
Photographer: Marlene Awaad/Bloomberg
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