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The data is whatever the data is, but measuring in nominal dollars sure seems like the wrong way to approach this. Did 40% more gigawatts get deployed or did th

by shove 3y ago

The data is whatever the data is, but measuring in nominal dollars sure seems like the wrong way to approach this. Did 40% more gigawatts get deployed or did the cost of installation labor account for some/most/all of that increase?

philipkglass 3y ago
Hourly wages for solar farm construction labor have gone up, but more efficient installation processes and lower cost hardware have compensated for that increase. The International Renewable Energy Agency says that 191 GW of solar capacity were installed in 2022: https://www.pv-magazine.com/2023/03/22/new-global-solar-capacity-additions-hit-191-gw-in-2022-says-irena/ https://www.pv-magazine.com/2023/03/22/new-global-solar-capa... Wood Mackenzie estimates that 270 GW of solar will be installed this year: https://electrek.co/2023/08/03/a-record-270-gw-of-solar-is-predicted-worldwide-for-2023/ https://electrek.co/2023/08/03/a-record-270-gw-of-solar-is-p... 270/191 = 1.41, or a 41% increase in installed capacity this year.
- shove 3y ago
  A nice surprise. Thanks for the links!
- dukeyukey 3y ago
  I wish it were ear when an article talks about GW of solar. Like is that averaged across the whole year? Days only or night too? Maybe it's peak output? Who knows.
  - philipkglass 3y ago
    These numbers refer to peak solar panel output under standardized test conditions. The annual output of an installed solar panel depends on how sunny a region is, whether or not the panel tracks the sun, ambient temperature, how much soiling is present on the front glass, and other factors. Utility scale PV solar farms in the US had an average capacity factor of 24.8% last year: https://www.eia.gov/electricity/monthly/epm_table_grapher.php?t=epmt_6_07_b https://www.eia.gov/electricity/monthly/epm_table_grapher.ph... These solar farms totaled 64.219 gigawatts of peak capacity and generated 139,670 gigawatt-hours of energy, equivalent to running at peak output for 24.8% of the year. The International Renewable Energy Agency also collates statistics about global electricity generation from renewable energy sources. These numbers take longer to publish than the capacity numbers, since they're more complicated to gather, but you can see the latest update here with numbers for 2021: "Renewable energy highlights, 3 July 2023" https://mc-cd8320d4-36a1-40ac-83cc-3389-cdn-endpoint.azureedge.net/-/media/Files/IRENA/Agency/Publication/2023/Jul/Renewable_energy_highlights_July_2023.pdf?rev=61160fc74ada4f0daa670f5003820602&hash=2AAF8D76203C02D849633E37F6F06243 https://mc-cd8320d4-36a1-40ac-83cc-3389-cdn-endpoint.azureed... In 2021, global solar electricity output increased by almost 23%, growing by 191 terawatt hours. The full 440 page IRENA report with stats on both peak capacity and actual production through 2021 is available here: https://www.irena.org/Publications/2023/Jul/Renewable-energy-statistics-2023 https://www.irena.org/Publications/2023/Jul/Renewable-energy...

by shove 3y ago

philipkglass 3y ago

Hourly wages for solar farm construction labor have gone up, but more efficient installation processes and lower cost hardware have compensated for that increase. The International Renewable Energy Agency says that 191 GW of solar capacity were installed in 2022: https://www.pv-magazine.com/2023/03/22/new-global-solar-capacity-additions-hit-191-gw-in-2022-says-irena/ https://www.pv-magazine.com/2023/03/22/new-global-solar-capa... Wood Mackenzie estimates that 270 GW of solar will be installed this year: https://electrek.co/2023/08/03/a-record-270-gw-of-solar-is-predicted-worldwide-for-2023/ https://electrek.co/2023/08/03/a-record-270-gw-of-solar-is-p... 270/191 = 1.41, or a 41% increase in installed capacity this year.

shove 3y ago
A nice surprise. Thanks for the links!
dukeyukey 3y ago
I wish it were ear when an article talks about GW of solar. Like is that averaged across the whole year? Days only or night too? Maybe it's peak output? Who knows.
- philipkglass 3y ago
  These numbers refer to peak solar panel output under standardized test conditions. The annual output of an installed solar panel depends on how sunny a region is, whether or not the panel tracks the sun, ambient temperature, how much soiling is present on the front glass, and other factors. Utility scale PV solar farms in the US had an average capacity factor of 24.8% last year: https://www.eia.gov/electricity/monthly/epm_table_grapher.php?t=epmt_6_07_b https://www.eia.gov/electricity/monthly/epm_table_grapher.ph... These solar farms totaled 64.219 gigawatts of peak capacity and generated 139,670 gigawatt-hours of energy, equivalent to running at peak output for 24.8% of the year. The International Renewable Energy Agency also collates statistics about global electricity generation from renewable energy sources. These numbers take longer to publish than the capacity numbers, since they're more complicated to gather, but you can see the latest update here with numbers for 2021: "Renewable energy highlights, 3 July 2023" https://mc-cd8320d4-36a1-40ac-83cc-3389-cdn-endpoint.azureedge.net/-/media/Files/IRENA/Agency/Publication/2023/Jul/Renewable_energy_highlights_July_2023.pdf?rev=61160fc74ada4f0daa670f5003820602&hash=2AAF8D76203C02D849633E37F6F06243 https://mc-cd8320d4-36a1-40ac-83cc-3389-cdn-endpoint.azureed... In 2021, global solar electricity output increased by almost 23%, growing by 191 terawatt hours. The full 440 page IRENA report with stats on both peak capacity and actual production through 2021 is available here: https://www.irena.org/Publications/2023/Jul/Renewable-energy-statistics-2023 https://www.irena.org/Publications/2023/Jul/Renewable-energy...