“The Sun provides 274 million gigawatt-years of solar energy, which translates to 8.2 million “quads” of Btu energy per year.

The entire human race currently uses about 400 quads of energy (in all
forms) per year. Put another way, the solar energy hitting the earth
exceeds the total energy consumed by humanity by a factor of over 20,000
times.”

http://www.ecoworld.com/energy-fuels/how-much-solar-energy-hits-earth.html

The price of installed solar in Europe is now so low that installations are continuing without subsidy in some places. Spain has a new large array going in with no subsidies.

According to Deutsche Bank solar is being installed “south of Rome” for $1.20/W. At that price there’s no need for subsidies.

At $1.20/W in the not-sunny Northeast US that would mean solar electricity for about 7c/kWh which is a great price for power that gets delivered during peak demand hours. In the sunny Southwest it would be electricity for about 5.5c/kWh.

Now all we need to do is to catch up with Europe….

In terms of governmental initiatives, I think the European governments have done well in encouraging solar power, but as Spain and Italy’s taxing systems are being challenged and this will lead to a slowing of growth, the governments need to step up to continue to endorse solar power. Solar power is not quite at the level yet where it can spread perfectly without support from the government. And if the government does support solar power, the nation can gain a solid long-lasting (and sustainable) infrastructure that is environmentally friendly. Although it may require a few more years of financial support, it is a undertaking that is more than worthwhile to provide for the needs of the future.

As Matt Lucky, Worldwatch’s reporter, co-author, and Sustainable Energy Lead Researcher stated, Solar and Wind power are poised to grow. Many have said that there needs to be more solar companies taken out of the market, and the lowering of solar power’s stock price will hopefully achieve that. Overall, Solar power seems to be a very strong candidate for growth in the future, and possibly the main solution to our current issue of sustainability. Here’s to the sun!