Solar power output reaches 1 terawatt

We’ve reached a landmark in renewable energy this week. The amount of energy generated by solar power has eclipsed 1 terawatt - that’s one trillion watts of energy. Solar PV, or photovoltaics, is the technology used in solar panels. These are a fairly common sight nowadays on roofs or in fields, but the first photovoltaic systems were used in specialised electricity grids in the 1990’s. In the past 30 years, their prevalence has skyrocketed thanks to improvements in the equipment itself and in the efficiency of their manufacture. The global output of solar power was predicted to reach 880 gigawatts watts by 2024, but we’ve smashed that target, reaching 1 terawatt already. But how does that stack up against our current power usage demands, and what does the future hold for solar power? Chris Smith spoke to the National Renewable Energy Laboratory’s Nancy Haegel...