Wind and solar power statistics, facts and trivia

It’s hip, it’s cool, it’s trendy… and it’s green. Solar and wind power are increasingly becoming topics of conversation as the world shifts from coal, oil and other fossil fuels. This is because of the clean, renewable energy provided by the wind and the sun.

Here are some fascinating solar power statistics, facts and trivia so you can be the centre of attention, amaze your friends and influence people with your knowledge! We’ve thrown in some tidbits about wind as well!

Solar panels quote

Solar power statistics

  1. It would take only 0.3 per cent of the world’s land area to supply all electricity needs from solar power.
  2. The area of roof space in Australia is enough to provide all our electricity, using solar panels.
  3. Weight for weight, solar cells generate as much electricity over their lifetime as nuclear fuel rods, without the hazardous waste. All components in a solar panel are recyclable. Whereas nuclear waste remains a threat for thousands of years.
  4. Solar and wind power systems have 100 times better lifetime energy yield than either nuclear or fossil energy system per tonne of mined materials.
  5. The amount of energy that goes into creating solar panels is paid back through clean electricity production from 1 – 2 years, depending on location. This compares with a serviceable life of decades.
  6. The Earth receives more energy from the sun in an hour than we use in the world yearly. Daily 120,000 terawatts of power from the Sun flows through to Earth. This is 10,000 times more that flows through our industrial civilisation at any given time.
  7. There are now some 1.8 million home solar power systems installed in Australia. At the end of 2017 there were 3.5 million rooftop solar panels. That means that about 16 per cent of Australian households used  rooftop solar panels.
  8. Charles Fritts made the first solar cell  in the 1880s. Its conversion efficiency  of 1% means it converted 1% of the sun’s rays to electricity. The most efficient commercially available solar panels on the market  have ratings of 22.5%. Most panels range from 14% to 16%. The theoretical limit for silicon based solar cells is 29%. In 2018 the Institute for Solar Energy Research Hamelin and the Leibniz Universität Hannover in Germany claimed an efficiency of 26.1%.
  9. Manufacturing solar cells produces 90% less pollutants than conventional fossil fuel technologies.
  10. Global annual photovoltaic installations increased from 21 MW in 1985, to around 165 GW in 2017.
  11. Contrary to popular belief, solar panels can still work in cloudy conditions. Although output does decrease.
  12. Silicon, the major component of a solar cell, is the second most abundant element in the Earth’s crust (about 28% by mass) after oxygen.
  13. A 5kW solar panel system can produce the electricity requirements of an average 4 person Australian household.

Wind power statistics

  1. Wind is a form of solar power, created by the uneven heating of the Earth’s surface which causes air pressure differences. Solar radiation and related energy resources including wind and wave power, hydro and biomass make up 99.97% of the available renewable energy on Earth.
  2. In 2017 total installations of wind turbines were 52,573 MW, bringing the global total to 539,581 MW. To put that in perspective, Victoria’s  two Loy Yang coal-fired power stations produce a total of 3,250 MW.
  3. In March 2018 GE Renewable Energy laid out plans to develop what it says will be the world’s largest and most powerful offshore wind turbine, the Haliade-X. A single turbine will stand 260 meters tall and have a capacity of 12 MW as well as 107-meter-long blades.

Sources for solar power statistics:

If you have some solar power statistics that you’d like to share, please get in contact with us.

Energy Matters
Energy Sage
Professor Andrew Blakers
SolarBuzz
Worldwatch Institute
Science Daily

Port of Los Angeles

Oliver Morton
Global Wind Energy Council
Australian Bureau Of Statistics

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