The Rise Of Solar Power

Solar power is on the rise. You can see the evidence on rooftops and in the desert, where utility-scale solar plants are popping up. The picture is not all rosy, but if the recent past is any indication, solar power is going to help lead the transition to a carbon-free future, and it might do it faster than we all expected.

Elon Musk and Tesla promised solar roof tiles in 2016, but the industry might not need an upgrade as its grown significantly with the solar panels currently available. You can see the evidence both on individual rooftops and in the utility-scale solar plants increasingly popping up in deserts across the country. In the United States, of all about 30% of the new power capacity added to the grid in 2018 was from solar.

But the picture is not all rosy. Solar power (and sunshine) is intermittent and the price of lithium ion batteries, one of the most popular current storage solutions, is still relatively high.

These are real problems that the industry needs to tackle if solar is going to reach its potential. However, if the recent past is any indication, solar power is going to help lead the transition to a carbon-free future, and it might do it faster than we all expected. Watch the video to learn more.

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The Rise Of Solar Power

[subzeroarctics]

Definitely felt like the video was over at 2:14... then, surprise! There’s another 12 minutes left!

[WnTonSoup]

Are all CNBC videos now "The rise of.." or "The fall of...."

[samuelwoods]

It’s nice to see a video that is optimistic about the environment.

[XiwithHighPing]

India is one of the leading nations in the world in terms of solar energy production. India is 5th biggest solar energy producer by MWs. 2 out of first 5 largest solar plants are in India other than many other smaller ones.

[AhmedGilo]

Can you make a video about the rise of Niagara, we only hear about the falls.

[tahmaskenchers]

Cnbc just couldn't help themselves without a dig at elon musk.

[funny-video-YouTube-channel]

Solar power is the *most easy to maintain and to clean-up.*
Best form of electricity generation ever. No mechanical parts. No pollution. Cheap to maintain. We can be very happy to have solar power on our planet !

[ronaldgarrison]

What's really remarkable is that this wind and solar growth is happening without a smart grid in place, with distributive storage, which will really help things along.

>BIG Solar


We need to stop BIG Solar from monopolizing the sun

[hpwan]

Here in Victoria Australia, we sell the electricity generated during day back to the grid, so that other user can use it..

[sarveshwar_]

Hopefully solar panels get so much cheaper that everyone can afford to install on their homes and societies.

[abz]

Quick sneaky dig at Tesla whenever an opportunity appears.

[michaell]

This was informative and the interview clips were good. Ignore the negative comments.

[maxmouche]

The Future is clean. I can't wait for it.

[bernardfinucane]

Rock bottom solar prices and zero marginal costs are hammering the profits of the utilities. 200 MW is small for nuclear or coal, but big for solar. The whole market is changing.

[loungelizard]

Fossil fuels get over 800 billion dollars in federal and State subsidies every year! If you tried to remove those the oil companies would scream and throw tantrums .

[Firestorm]

Hawaii already over 30% alternative energy!

[paulsmith]

I looked into installing solar panels on my house. I am a low volume user; my average use is approximately 350 kWh per month.

It would take me more than 25 years to recover the cost of the installation using a straight payback calculation. Using a Net Present Value calculation, which factors in opportunity costs, it would take me more than 80 years to recover the cost of the installation. And that is without any battery storage capacity. I am 80. There is no way that I could recover the cost of solar panels.

Contrary to what people are told by the promoters of solar power, the panels have to be cleaned periodically. Moreover, they are susceptible to wind and hail damage, which can result in costly repairs. Lastly, depending on which study you want to believe, the panels lose some of their generating capability over time. I have seen estimates of ½ to 1 percent a year over the estimated life of the panels, which appears to be around 20 to 25 years.

The cost of solar power, as well as wind power, does not include the cost of maintaining standby generation for when the wind does not blow and the sun does not shine. If I have to maintain a standby gas fired steam electric station, the cost should be factored into the cost of wind and solar power. It isn’t. Also, in Texas, to accommodate wind and solar, long-distance transmission lines have been built. The cost of these transmission lines has not been factored into the cost of wind and/or solar.


I support the move to a carbon free electric system. But people should be told the strengths and weaknesses of wind and solar power. They are not ready for stand alone prime time operation.


As an aside, I find it ironic that lots of folks are extolling the virtues of wind and solar as the way to a carbon free society while buying large pick-up trucks and SUVs. Somehow, that does not compute very well.

[nicoyou]

Zero carbon economy, let's make it happen! We owe it to ourselves, the future generations and the planet.

[knowledgejoy]

Gujarat, state of India also doing well, but we get solar panels at chip prise and get 50 present subsidy