How much of the world would need to be covered in solar panels to power Earth?

Here’s how much of the world would need to be covered in solar panels to power Earth

 Solar energy is a seriously underrated resource.More power from the sun hits the Earth in a single hour than humanity uses in an entire year, yet solar only provided 0.0039% of the energy used in the US last year.

Visionaries like Elon Musk think that solar will become the biggest energy source by 2031, according to an interview with Tim Urban on Wait But Why.

But what would a world powered by solar look like?

The Earth would probably be littered with solar panels, right?

Wrong.

If solar is 20% efficient (as it has been in lab tests) at turning solar energy into power, we’d only need to cover a land area about the size of Spain to power the entire Earth renewably in 2030.

Credit: businessinsider.com

 

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The above post is reprinted from materials provided by Business insiderNote: Materials may be edited for content and length.

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