The Path to Drawdown: Solar PVs

Solving climate change and staying below 1.5ºC of global warming demands a wholesale shift away from fossil fuels and toward using 100% zero-emissions sources.

The most powerful source of this clean energy is the sun. Photovoltaic or PV solar panels (the kind you see on rooftops) have emerged as the predominant way of capturing the sun's energy and converting it into electricity. This industry has been growing quickly: as of 2020, solar panels are the cheapest source of electricity in most places on earth.

Solar produces ~2% of global electricity today. According to Project Drawdown, to be on a path to remain under 1.5ºC of warming, utility scale solar will need to be generating a combined ~26% of global electricity by 2050.

To get there, the PV solar industry needs to keep massively scaling over the few next decades:

• 720 TWh of solar electricity was generated in 2019
• 28,200 TWh is needed by 2050
• That’s a CAGR of 12.56% from 2019 - 2050

Analysis from the IEA also predicts that, to reach a 100% clean electricity grid by 2050, annual solar panel manufacturing capacity will need to scale from 737 GW in 2020 to 4,956 GW in 2030 (p.198).

About

Sunnova Energy International, Inc. (stock ticker: NOVA) is a residential solar and energy storage service provider. They partner with local dealers who originate, design, and install their customers' solar energy systems and energy storage systems on their behalf. Sunnova is headquartered in Houston, Texas.

NOVA's Role in Drawdown

Sunnova offers customers products to power their homes with affordable solar energy. They also make it possible in some states to obtain a new roof and other ancillary products as part of their solar loan. Their solar service agreements take the form of a lease, power purchase agreement, or loan. 

Both residential solar and energy storage are key Drawdown solutions for electrifying the energy system.

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