Global electricity generation from solar farms has exceeded power generation from wind farms since May, marking the longest stretch in history where solar has surpassed wind as the top utility-scale renewable power source. Solar electricity generation exceeded wind generation by 1.65 terawatt hours (TWh) in May and 9.57 TWh in June, energy think tank Ember has revealed. Power generation data for July and August is yet to come out; however, the two months are likely to see a continuation of this trend considering that July is usually the peak month for solar output across the northern hemisphere while August is usually the second highest solar generation month. Previously, solar power generation exceeded wind generation in August and June of 2023 but has never before strung together such a sustained stretch of higher generation.
That said, wind power is likely to reclaim its status as the world's leading renewable energy source in September due to the changing angle of the sun's rays coupled with rising wind speeds as winter sets in across Europe, North America and Northern Asia. Further, global wind power generation is likely to be at least 30% greater than solar generation for the entire 2024 because the peak wind generation period is normally during winter when wind output can be more than twice the solar output. Over the past two decades, wind power has been the leading utility-scale renewable power source, generating 2,311 TWh of electricity in 2023 compared to 1,632 TWh by solar farms. However, over the past five years, solar generation has grown twice as quickly as wind generation in large part due to lower costs and faster construction times of solar farms compared to their wind brethren. Global solar capacity increased by 188% from 2018 to 2023 compared to 80% growth in wind capacity over the timeframe.
Big Solar Overtakes Big Oil
Solar power is now even challenging fossil fuels in the global energy mix. Whereas Big Oil companies are credited with powering the Second Industrial Revolution, solar energy could become the primary power source of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, thanks to its simplicity, longevity, low cost, and overall efficiency. Indeed, Bloomberg has revealed that the seven largest solar companies--all located in China-- are supplying more energy to the world than the seven biggest fossil fuel producers.
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According to Bloomberg, the biggest solar panel manufacturers consisting of Tongwei, GCL Technology Holdings (OTCPK:GCPEF), Xinte Energy, Longi Green Energy Technology, Trina Solar, JA Solar Technology, and Jinko Solar (NYSE:JKS) produce enough panels to generate 5 exajoules of electricity every year. In comparison, the seven oil giants including Exxon Mobil Corp. (NYSE:XOM), Chevron Corp. (NYSE:CVX), Shell Plc (NYSE:SHEL), TotalEnergies (NYSE:TTE), BP Plc (NYSE:BP), ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP), and Eni S.p.A (NYSE:E) extract around 40 exajoules of petroleum energy from the ground per year, or just shy of 18 million barrels per day.
Big Solar beats Big Oil when you take several factors into account. First off, only about a quarter of the energy coming out of an oil company's wells gets turned into useful power with the vast majority lost as heat. In comparison, electric motors convert over 85 percent of electrical energy into mechanical energy compared to less than 40 percent for a gas combustion engine. According to the EPA, the average electric car is two to three times as efficient as the average conventional car with an internal combustion engine. Second, the majority of solar panels carry 25 year warranties whereas fossil fuels are mostly used up in a matter of months. If you look at the long-term flow of energy into the global economy with each solar cell produced, solar companies come out well ahead if you consider oil reserves owned by these oil companies as well as taking into account what each sector can produce without major additional investments.
On a company basis, Bloomberg estimates that Tongwei-the world's largest solar panel manufacturer- will soon provide over 9 exajoules of energy annually when its 400,000 ton polysilicon plant in Inner Mongolia comes online, surpassing Exxon's 8.3 exajoules.
Last year, the International Energy Association predicted that the amount of capital investment flowing into the solar sector would overtake the amount of investment going into oil production for the first time in history. Speaking to CNBC, the IEA's executive director Faith Birol said there was a "growing gap between the investment in fossil energy and investment [in] clean energy. Clean energy is moving fast--faster than many people realize. This is clear in the investment trends, where clean technologies are pulling away from fossil fuels. For every dollar invested in fossil fuels, about 1.7 dollars are now going into clean energy."
By Alex Kimani for Oilprice.com
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Alex Kimani is a veteran finance writer, investor, engineer and researcher for Safehaven.com. More