Solar cell production increased by 50 per cent in 2007

Citation

(2008), "Solar cell production increased by 50 per cent in 2007", Management of Environmental Quality, Vol. 19 No. 4. https://doi.org/10.1108/meq.2008.08319dab.005

Solar cell production increased by 50 per cent in 2007

Article Type: News From: Management of Environmental Quality: An International Journal, Volume 19, Issue 4

New technology means solar power could one day provide all the world’s energy needs but governments must do their bit. Until a few years ago the suggestion that solar power might provide the answer to the intertwined problems of long-term energy security and climate change would have been dismissed as a pipedream. The high cost of solar cells, their inefficiency in converting the sun’s rays into electricity and the lack of state investment or assistance for renewable energy start-ups meant there was little hope.

But this has changed: “production of photovoltaics (PV) jumped to 3,800 MW worldwide in 2007, up an estimated 50 per cent over 2006,” according to the Earth Policy Institute, in a recent release, “Solar Cell Production Jumps 50 per cent in 2007”. “Growing by an impressive average of 48 per cent each year since 2002, PV production has been doubling every two years, making it the world’s fastest-growing energy source”.