Power the whole world with solar power?

Written by Olivier Adam on Dimanche, 27 Septembre 2009 09:09

Granted there are a lot of impracticalities with this idea, but it is an interesting thought exercise. What if we could power the whole world only with solar energy, how much space would that take? Our friends at the Information is Beautiful site have done a little research on how much energy is required now (and in 2030) to power the whole planet (assuming no carbon emission) and what space it would take. They also assumed that the solar panels would be located in well lit areas of the world and tried to spread them to cover the energy need of the different part of the world too.

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