Photovoltaic systems are by far the more common and versatile of the two. Solar energy is typically harnessed using either photovoltaic (PV) or concentrated solar power (CSP) systems. A report from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory determined that solar panels covering a collective area of 22,000 square miles-roughly the area of Lake Michigan, or just over six tenths of a percent (.6%) of the country’s total land area, could provide enough electricity to power the entire United States. currently has enough solar power capacity to power 18 million households. With 95,209 MW of solar power online and more on the way, the U.S.

Note: If it were a single country, the European Union (EU) would have the second-highest solar capacity in the world at 178,700 MW Solar Power in the United States Top 10 Countries That Produce the Most Solar Power (Megawatts, 2021): According to a 2020 report by the World Bank, nearly every country in the world has the right combination of geographic conditions, weather, and sunlight to generate all the electricity it needs-and more-using solar power facilities placed within its own borders. Solar also has massive potential to expand further. By the end of 2021, photovoltaic solar arrays provided an estimated 5% of the world’s electricity-a small, but growing percentage.Įxperts estimate that the countries of the world installed between 133 and 175 gigawatts (GW) of new solar power in 2021, and are expected to install another 200 GW by the end of 2022. The use of solar power is increasing worldwide. Solar energy also prevents the negative impacts of fossil fuels, such as greenhouse gas emissions from coal consumption.

Solar power is effectively infinite in supply and can be generated at any point at which sunlight reaches the ground in every country on Earth. Solar power is clean, green, inexpensive, and renewable power that is produced when sunlight strikes human-made solar cells and is subsequently converted into electrical energy.

The infinite country