Here comes the sun

Solar energy is nothing new. People have used solar power as far back in history as the 7th century B.C. when humans used sunlight to light fires with magnifying glass materials. In 3rd century B.C., the Greeks and romans were known to harness solar power with mirrors to light torches for religious ceremonies.

New York inventor Charles Fritts created the first solar cell in 1883 by coating selenium with a thin layer of gold. Fritts reported that the selenium module produced a current “that is continuous, constant, and of considerable force.” This cell achieved an energy conversion rate of 1 to 2 percent. Most modern solar cells work at an efficiency of 15 to 20 percent. It was the beginning of photovoltaic solar panel innovation in America. Photovoltaic is the technical term for turning light energy into electricity. It is used interchangeably with the term photoelectric.

From the introduction of solar-powered calculators in the late 1970s, the world never stopped searching for ways to use the sun to generate power for homes, vehicles and industries. Solar power is free and clean. It holds great promise to free the world from its dependence on coal and fossil fuels. Globally, coal power plants are still the largest source of electricity.

The International Energy Agency has challenged governments to take “decisive action” on climate policy to achieve deep decarbonization by midcentury. In its 2020 World Energy Outlook report, the IEA said “a surge of welldesigned energy policies” is essential in order for sustainability goals to be met by mid-century.

“I see solar becoming the new king of the world’s electricity markets,” said IEA Executive Director Dr. Fatih Birol. “Based on today’s policy settings, it is on track to set new records for deployment every year after 2022. If governments and investors step up their clean-energy efforts in line with our Sustainable Development Scenario, the growth of both solar and wind would be even more spectacular—and hugely encouraging for overcoming the world’s climate challenge.”

From the Associated Press: “Solar energy has the potential to supply up to 40 percent of the nation’s electricity within 15 years—a 10-fold increase over current solar output, but one that would require massive changes in US policy and billions of dollars in federal investment to modernize the nation’s electric grid, a new federal report says. The report by the Energy Department’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy says the United States would need to quadruple its annual solar capacity—and continue to increase it year by year—as it shifts to a renewable-dominant grid in order to address the existential threat posed by climate change.”

Solar power installations are increasing exponentially around the world as countries step up their renewable energy efforts to cut carbon emissions from electricity generation. Although its future looks bright, solar power has a long way to go to become an alternative viable source of renewable energy. In 2019, just over 2 percent of global electricity came from solar. Here’s the installed solar capacity of the top 5 countries using solar power in 2019: China, 205 gigawatt; US, 76 GW; Japan, 63.2 GW; Germany, 49.2 GW; and India with 38 GW.

The Philippines has innate advantages on the solar front. However, the solar sector faces the challenge of attracting investments. Based on Department of Energy data, the existing installed and dependable capacity as of December 31, 2019 is as follows: Coal, 6,929 MW (40 percent market share); natural gas, 3,452 MW (20 percent share); oil-based, 2,585 MW (15 percent share); solar, 362 MW (2 percent share).

Reex Capital Asia associate Shiva Susarla, in a report by Asian-power, said the Philippines failed to take advantage of its huge RE potential due to lack of financing and the presence of policy constraints, particularly referring to the delay in the approval and implementation of the FIT scheme. The country’s policy, he said, was characterized by “uncertainty and delays”—something that investors did not appreciate. This was partly the reason the Philippines had the highest residential power rate and the third highest industrial power rate in the region.

Harnessing solar power is the best way to decrease our dependence on coal and fossil fuels, which are bad for the environment. We believe that market conditions for solar energy in the Philippines are getting better. But we need stronger government support and investment-friendly policies to help make the solar sector shine.