Solar Power is Not Alternative Energy

We are living in dark times indeed. But there is at least one incredibly bright spot, both literally and figuratively. Solar power has gone from being “alternative” energy to becoming the least expensive and most promising source of energy in the world. Indeed, all renewable energy is overtaking dirty oil and gas and pointing us to a cleaner, healthier future.

Consider these facts compiled by writer and environmental activist Bill McKibben:

• From the invention of the technology – in New Jersey – in 1954, it took 68 years for the world to install one terawatt of solar power. It took only two more years for the second terawatt to be built. And the third will arrive in even less time. Solar power is blasting off.
• In 2024, 96% of the new energy that came online was from renewable energy sources, including 93% of the new energy generation added in the U.S.
• In March, renewables covered over half the electricity used in the U.S. In California, the fourth largest economy in the world, two thirds of power is renewable. And the red state of Texas is now installing renewable energy even faster than California.
• And thanks to Chinese ingenuity, the cost of battery storage has dropped 95%, and the global race is on for the installation of electricity grid-scale storage.

In fact, Bill McKibben has written an entire book, Here Comes the Sun, about the exciting and hopeful solar energy revolution underway. Yes, the current regime is trying to reverse this, but it will fail.

And there is other news great enough to drown out the bad. Solar panels currently have a lifespan of about 30 years, they can be recycled, and the techniques for recycling are continuously improving. This is equally true for batteries, where some techniques can recover 95% of the raw materials, like lithium, nickel and cobalt. However, China is now producing electric cars that use sodium-ion batteries instead of lithium. The planet has an abundance of easily accessible sodium.

And keep in mind, zero percent of fossil fuels are recycled.

But maybe the most gob-smacking fact of all is that it would take less than half of the land in the U.S. that is currently used just to produce corn for ethanol to generate enough solar electricity to decarbonize our entire electrical system. Meaning it is eminently possible to achieve the goal of 100% renewable energy by 2050.

And New Jersey is having a solar moment of our own. Millburn has the largest solar array mounted on water in the nation, and that has benefits beyond energy generation: this design dramatically reduces evaporation and algal growth, and the cooling effect of the water also extends the lifespan of the solar panels. And just a few weeks ago, the New Jersey legislature overwhelmingly approved a “smart solar permitting” bill, which is expected to vastly accelerate the process for approving residential solar and battery installations when the Governor signs it into law. This is sorely needed, since New Jersey currently has the third slowest approval process in the nation, and it will also remove thousands of dollars from the cost to each household of installing rooftop solar, allow the technology to blast off, and add jobs and enormous savings in electrical bills. Yet even with this barrier, more than 200,000 installations have been mounted across the state. And for those who have too many trees or live in an apartment, there is community solar, where New Jersey is also a leader. Over 70 companies are building out this solution across our state.

All this is a preview to Sun Day, a day of action on Sunday, September 21 to celebrate the miracle of our ability to harness the almost infinite and entirely free power of the sun to run our homes, our businesses, and our factories. We welcome you to celebrate with Christ Church Summit, multiple organizers in Montclair, Sierra Club in Holmdel, or to find another event on the Sun Day or GreenFaith maps.

Jennifer Nielsen is a member of the Third Act NJ Coordinating Committee and active with GreenFaith