From Peru to Punjab, the benefits of solar power energy in the developing world are helping to reshape national views on renewable energy development. An article in The Economist highlights the recent expansion of global solar capacity due to an increase in solar panel installations. It cites several examples that illustrate how solar power is “hitting its stride” across the developing world.

From the article:

“Rather than the rooftop panels popular in Germany, countries where solar irradiance is much stronger than northern Europe are creating vast parks with tens of thousands of flexible PV panels supplying power to their national grids.”

Major projects in China and India alone led to a 26% rise in solar-energy capacity in 2015. (That was also the year China surpassed Germany as the largest producer of solar energy.) Government officials in India are aiming to increase solar-power capacity 20-fold, to 100GW by 2022.

Also from the article:

“Though this might be over-ambitious, KPMG, a consultancy, expects solar’s share of India’s energy mix to rise to 12.5% by 2025, from less than 1% today. It thinks solar in India will be cheaper than coal by 2020.”

Some traditional fossil fuel agents are also getting on the solar bandwagon. According the article, Coal India (a largely state-owned entity) is planning to buy 1GW of solar power to help reduce its energy costs.

Solar power is expected to continue to reshape how renewable energy production is viewed and integrated in the developing world, making these emerging nations more energy independent and productive.

 

Related links:

The net environmental impact of solar power: Is it helping or hurting?

Solar power sees its day in the sun

This post originally appeared on the SunPower Business Feed.