Does the U.S. produce enough solar energy to power your coffee machine?
One thing that has never shut down during the pandemic is the sun, and thanks to the sun, in 2020 the world added enough new solar energy generation to power more than 95 million homes.
That’s 127 gigawatts, or 127 billion watts, of solar power added, according to the International Renewable Energy Agency, an intergovernmental organization that supports countries in their transition to sustainable energy.
But are we moving fast enough? According to IRENA, we need to step it up if the world wants to align the energy production with the Paris Accord — wherein it was agreed countries would work to keep the increase in global average temperature to less than 1.5°C. above pre-industrial levels.
Costs of solar and other renewables are falling, clean tech markets are growing and the benefits of the renewables become more clear. Even with the challenges of the pandemic, the numbers offer promise of a cleaner energy landscape.
According to IRENA’s 2021 renewable energy capacity statistics, the U.S. has an installed capacity of about 76,000 megawatts (or 76 billion watts—a megawatt is a million watts) of solar power, about 10.6% of the world’s total capacity. To put the numbers in perspective, by most rough estimates it’s enough to power 57 million homes. That amount translates to about 231 watts of solar electricity per person, according to IRENA. Recharging your smart phone uses 6 watts, a common lightbulb uses 60 watts, a coffee machine uses 1,000, a clothes dryer 3,000, and a tankless water heater uses 18,000.
As of 2020, the U.S. produced 3.27% of its primary electricity from solar, according to Our World in Data, and Italy produces 9.66% of its electricity from solar. That’s the most among the most populated countries in the world, (Italy is 23rd largest.)
The five countries that have the most installed capacity and the largest share of solar power in the world are China, the U.S., Japan, Germany, and India.
This list ranks the countries with the highest watts of solar per person. The data come from IRENA and Visual Capitalist.
1. Australia
Installed capacity, megawatts: 17,627Watts per capita: 637Share of world total: 2.5%
2. Germany
Installed capacity, megawatts: 53,783Watts per capita: 593Share of world total: 7.5% (No. 4 in the world)
3. Japan
Installed capacity, megawatts: 67,000Watts per capita: 498Share of world total: 9.4% (No. 3 in the world)
4. Netherlands
Installed capacity, megawatts: 10,213Watts per capita: 396Share of world total: 1.4%
5. Belgium
Installed capacity, megawatts: 5,646Watts per capita: 394Share of world total: 0.8%
6. Italy
Installed capacity, megawatts: 21,600Watts per capita: 345Share of world total: 3.0%
7. Malta
Installed capacity, megawatts: 184Watts per capita: 312Share of world total: 0.03%
8. Switzerland
Installed capacity, megawatts: 3,118Watts per capita: 295Share of world total: 0.4%
9. Greece
Installed capacity, megawatts: 3,247Watts per capita: 258Share of world total: 0.5%
10. Luxembourg
Installed capacity, megawatts: 195Watts per capita: 244Share of world total: 0.03%
11. U.S.
Installed capacity, megawatts: 75,572Watts per capita: 231Share of world total: 10.6% (No. 2 in the world)
Pictured is a concentrated solar thermal plant in California’s Mojave Desert.
12. South Korea
Installed capacity, megawatts: 14,575Watts per capita: 217Share of world total: 2.0%
13. United Kingdom
Installed capacity, megawatts: 13,563Watts per capita: 200Share of world total: 1.9%
14. Czech Republic
Installed capacity, megawatts: 2,073Watts per capita: 194Share of world total: 0.3%
15. Spain
Installed capacity, megawatts: 14,089Watts per capita: 186Share of world total: 2.0%
16. Denmark
Installed capacity, megawatts: 1,300Watts per capita: 186Share of world total: 0.2%
17. United Arab Emirates
Installed capacity, megawatts: 2,539Watts per capita: 185Share of world total: 0.4%
Pictured are solar “trees” in the Sustainability Pavilion at the EXPO 2020 currently going on in Dubai.
18. Austria
Installed capacity, megawatts: 2,220Watts per capita: 178Share of world total: 0.3%
19. Taiwan
Installed capacity, megawatts: 5,817Watts per capita: 172Share of world total: 0.8%
20. Bulgaria
Installed capacity, megawatts: 1,073Watts per capita: 152Share of world total: 0.2%
21. France
Installed capacity, megawatts: 11,733Watts per capita: 148Share of world total: 1.6%
22. China
Installed capacity, megawatts: 254,355Watts per capita: 147Share of world total: 35.6% (No. 1 in the world)
23. Cyprus
Installed capacity, megawatts: 200Watts per capita: 147Share of world total: 0.03%
24. Chile
Installed capacity, megawatts: 3,205Watts per capita: 142Share of world total: 0.4%
25. Israel
Installed capacity, megawatts: 1,439Watts per capita: 134Share of world total: 0.2%
26. Hungary
Installed capacity, megawatts: 1,953Watts per capita: 131Share of world total: 0.3%
27. Slovenia
Installed capacity, megawatts: 267Watts per capita: 128Share of world total: 0.04%
28. Ukraine
Installed capacity, megawatts: 5,360Watts per capita: 114Share of world total: 0.8%
29. Jordan
Installed capacity, megawatts: 1,359Watts per capita: 100Share of world total: 0.2%
30. Estonia
Installed capacity, megawatts: 130Watts per capita: 98Share of world total: 0.02%
Explore more of this data at Visual Capitalist.
