2011

A Big Year For European Solar Power | Earth Wise

February 2, 2022 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

The installed solar capacity in the European Union grew by 34% in 2021. This means that Europe is on pace to quadruple its solar energy generation by 2030.

During 2021, the 27 countries of the European Union installed 25.9 gigawatts of new solar capacity, compared with 19.3 gigawatts in 2020. This was the biggest year yet for solar growth, beating out the previous record of 21.4 gigawatts set in 2011. A gigawatt of solar electricity is enough to power about 300,000 homes, so the 2021 installations can produce enough electricity for about 8 million households. The European Union is home to about 450 million people.

SolarPower Europe, an industry trade organization, projects that solar energy capacity in the EU will increase from the current 165 gigawatts to 328 gigawatts in 2025 and as much as 672 gigawatts by 2030.

The EU has the goal of generating 45% of its electricity from renewable sources by 2030, which is an important milestone in achieving climate neutrality by 2050.

Challenges still facing the EU include obstacles to permitting, electricity grid bottlenecks, and assurance of solar panel supplies. Much of Europe’s supply of solar panels comes from China. The EU wants to boost its own production of solar panels to 20 gigawatts per year by 2025.

The US currently has about 113 GW of installed solar capacity and is projected to install about 300 gigawatts of new capacity over the next 10 years.

**********

Web Links

For the European Union, 2021 Was a Banner Year for Solar Power

Photo, posted May 3, 2007, courtesy of Bernd Sieker via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

A Disastrous Year

February 5, 2019 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

The number and economic impact of natural disasters around the world have increased dramatically over the past 30 years. In dollar terms, the amount has actually more than doubled. While 2017 and especially 2011 hold the records for worldwide economic damage, 2018 was pretty disastrous in its own right, totaling at least $160 billion.

The year was dominated by costly wildfires in California and tropical storms in the United States and Asia. According to a recent report by the reinsurance company Munich Re, the Camp and Woolsey fires in California alone caused losses of $21.7 billion, $16.5 billion of which was insured.

Overall, insurance companies paid out $80 billion in damage claims from natural disasters last year. This was less than the $140 billion in 2017 but is still double the 30-year average.

Losses from wildfires have increased dramatically in recent years and summers continue to get hotter and dryer, a likely consequence of climate change. These mounting costs bring into question whether people can continue to build in high-risk wildfire areas without dramatic changes in materials and the aggressive use of other protective measures.

Twenty-nine natural disaster events in 2018 caused more than a billion dollars in damage each. Tropical storms including hurricanes Michael and Florence in the United States and three Asian typhoons caused $57 billion in damage.

A severe drought in Europe that set off major wildfires and caused agricultural losses caused $3.9 billion in losses. Only about $280 million of this damage was covered by insurance companies since farmers in Europe don’t typically purchase insurance against drought. For them, 2018 was truly a disastrous year.

**********

Web Links

Natural Disasters Caused $160 Billion in Damage in 2018

Photo, posted July 26, 2018, courtesy of Bureau of Land Management California via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Tsunami And Invasive Species

November 13, 2017 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

According to a new study published in the journal Science, scientists have discovered that hundreds of Japanese marine species have been swept across the Pacific Ocean to the United States following the deadly Tsunami in 2011.

The Hottest Month (Again)

September 15, 2016 By WAMC WEB

NASA data show that the Earth’s temperature in July was the highest recorded since record-keeping began 136 years ago. It was also the 10th straight month of record-breaking temperatures and was .18 degrees Fahrenheit higher than the previous hottest July in 2011.

Toward Safer Produce

January 1, 2016 By WAMC WEB

Government and private organizations have long been encouraging us to eat healthier diets. We have seen food pyramid charts for decades and the “5 a day” campaign has boosted our consumption of fresh fruits and vegetables.

[Read more…] about Toward Safer Produce