What makes solar energy revolutionary is the rate of growth

 

This extraordinary growth stems from the interplay of three simple factors. When industries make more of something, they make it more cheaply. 

When things get cheaper, demand for them grows. When demand grows, more is made. In the case of solar power, demand was created and sustained by subsidies early this century for long enough that falling prices became noteworthy and, soon afterwards, predictable.

The positive feedback that drives exponential growth took off on a global scale.

In 2009, when installed solar capacity worldwide was 23gw, the energy experts at the IEA predicted that in the 20 years to 2030 it would increase to 244gw. 

It hit that milestone in 2016, when only six of the 20 years had passed. 

The people who have come closest to predicting what has actually happened have been environmentalists poo-pooed for zealotry and economic illiteracy, such as those at Greenpeace who, also in 2009, predicted 921gw of solar capacity by 2030. 

Yet even that was an underestimate. The world’s solar capacity hit 1,419gw last year.

The Economist 20 June 2024

https://www.economist.com/interactive/essay/2024/06/20/solar-power-is-going-to-be-huge