Why Solar Energy Is Important Right Now

Whether you’ve heard about it from a friend, seen some videos on the internet, or maybe you are noticing homes are beginning to have solar around you, solar energy is a hot topic right now. In 2020 alone, solar power experienced a 37% growth in the United States. According to SEIA, there will be 42% more solar power installed in the United States between 2021 and 2025 than the solar market installed during the last five years! One could say that the solar energy market is… hot. (Pun totally intended.)

So what’s the explanation for this rapid growth?

Homeowners who switch to solar power are saving thousands in electricity costs every year by choosing to produce their own energy instead of relying on the utility companies to produce it for them.

When the coal industry took a huge nosedive in 2020 and renewable energy faced extreme challenges, the solar industry continued to grow. Research conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic reveals an incredible growth projection for the market over the next 18 months. According to ResearchAndMarkets.com, the data predicts:

Global renewable energy market growth from $184.3 billion in 2020 to $226.1 billion by 2021 — with solar leading the way.

Why is this important?

The rise of employment in solar is as good an indicator as you’ll find about the trends in energy.

What We Already Know

Our old sources of energy are running out. Fossil fuels (like coal and gas), the most widely used sources of energy on Earth are non-renewable.

Non-renewable energy, otherwise known as finite, includes any form of energy that is derived from sources that were formed on the earth billions of years ago. Which means we have to keep digging deeper and deeper into the earth to find more.

This chart shows how non-renewable sources like coal are starting to run out while renewable sources are just starting to take off.

Renewable energy sources offer more flexibility to our electricity grids at a time when our grids need it most. That goes without saying, it’s a time when energy customers need a break from electricity costs the most. Ever-expanding electrical networks, increased demand on outdated grids, more pull of electricity required to power homes, appliances and cars — our demand for energy in the coming years is only going to intensify.

And the share of available fossil fuels will continue to decline.

It’s also a well-known fact at this point that clean renewable energies like solar and wind are better for our planet as well as the future generations who will need enough energy to power the civilizations of their own.

If we don’t curb our use of non-renewable sources soon, there will be none left for generations, not so far into the future.