Solar energy has been the foundation for space exploration since the space race of the 20th century. Industrial exploitation of the Moon and the transfer of production facilities have spurred the development of new energy technologies, but solar panels remain the cheapest and most widely used energy source on the satellite. Stats
Solar is the cheapest form of energy due to the lower cost of building panels to harvest energy from the sun. Additionally, scientists and engineers are actively researching technology that will create high input for smaller panels, lower costs of fabrication for panels, longer life spans, and improved recycling and reuse methods.
In short, solar is the cheapest form of energy for utility companies due to the lower cost of building them. The IEA believes that improving technology, risk-reducing policies, and a handful of other factors mean that this renewable resource has a bright future. For a more detailed breakdown of IEA’s findings, you can read Carbon Brief’s summary .
The table shows that solar electricity is some 20-50% cheaper today than the IEA had estimated in last year’s outlook, with the range depending on the region. There are similarly large reductions in the estimated costs of onshore and offshore wind.
Solar is officially the cheapest form of energy in history— and the IEA believes that with improving technology and risk-reducing policies, this renewable resource has a bright future. Sam Pires is a Contributing Writer at My Modern Met and one of the co-hosts of the My Modern Met Top Artist Podcast.
And ultra-supercritical coal is a type of coal plant that is more efficient than traditional coal plants: Energy coming from older plants is even more expensive. The base cost of solar energy is only $23.52 per megawatt-hour, which is almost half the base cost of coal, $43.80 per megawatt-hour. Is Solar the Cheapest Form of Energy?
Workers clean photovoltaic panels inside a solar power plant in Gujarat, India. Credit: Reuters / Alamy Stock Photo. The world’s best solar power schemes now offer the “cheapest…electricity in history” with the technology cheaper than coal and gas in most major countries.