The World Is Going Solar

The world is going solar. According to new data released by the Fraunhofer Institute, in the first half of 2014, renewable energy, like solar power, accounted for almost 31 percent of all electricity produced in Germany. In fact, solar power generation was up 28 percent during the first half of 2014, compared to the same time last year. 

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For the first time ever in Germany—the cloudiest country in western Europe—solar power and other forms of renewable energy created more energy and electricity production than dirty coal. And, in June, Germany set a solar power record, using solar power to generate 50 percent of overall electricity demand for part of a day. 

While Germany is relying heavily on renewable energy today to help fight global warming and climate change, it has had a pretty standard energy evolution. In the 18th century, Germany was burning wood. In the 19th century, it was burning coal. In the 20th century, it was burning oil. Today it’s getting electricity from solar and renewables. 

That’s a typical evolution for a developed country (that’s not controlled by the financial interests of Big Oil). But what if the dozens of developing countries across the globe, that are still stuck in the 18th century and that still rely on burning wood for energy, jumped directly to renewable energy and leapfrogged the whole carbon cycle? 

Can you imagine how that would transform the fight against global warming and climate change? Well, that’s exactly what’s going on right now in rural India. 

Right now, there are nearly 400 million people across India without electricity, with the majority of those people living in rural areas of the country. They’re forced to rely on candles, kerosene and burning wood to light their homes and to do basic things like cooking. The stunning lack of reliable energy production in one of the world’s fastest growing countries led the new Indian Prime Minister, Narenda Modi, to call for every home across India to be able to run at least one light bulb by 2019 with the help of solar power. He didn’t call for more coal to be burned, or for more oil wells to be dug. He called for solar power.