Solar’s longest day

Last week, those of us in the northern hemisphere enjoyed the summer solstice, and this year there was extra reason to celebrate. According to analysis by Ember, a climate think tank, close to 20% of the world’s electricity came from solar during the mid-day peak, an all-time record. That’s up from 16% in 2023. It’s a testament to the dizzying growth of solar. In fact, solar capacity has grown faster than any other electricity source in history, going from 100 TWh to 1000 TWh of generation in just eight years (reaching that milestone in 2021), and it’s not slowing down. It’s expected that solar will account for 8.2% of global electricity generation in June 2024.

Ember’s analysis also touches on how many of the world’s highest-potential solar regions, in lower latitudes and in the southern hemisphere, have huge resources at their fingertips that remain largely untapped. (Roughly 89% of the world’s panels are installed north of the equator.) If you’re interested, check out the full brief from Ember here.

Anyways, this milestone is worth a fist pump and an extra lap around the maypole. Happy (belated) Solstice!