The industry behind solar energy is shining brighter than ever. Credit it to the global-wide environmental awareness, rising oil prices, dwindling supply of fossil fuels or threats of global warming. Scientists, economists and environmentalists predict that solar energy will only grow in popularity and demand in the coming years.

Here are some more encouraging facts, highlighting the growth of the solar energy industry in the past few years[1]:

• In 1985, demand for the installation of solar panels was only 21 megawatts. A mere two decades later, this figure has grown exponentially as the world is now asking for almost 3,000 megawatts of photovoltaic cells.
• The global demand for solar energy has grown at around 30% in the past 15 years. In the United States, this figure is much higher, as demand shows a 57% growth.
• Aside from the US, Japan and Germany are the biggest markets for solar energy. This is largely due to funding provided by the government and market incentives.
• Prices for photovoltaic cells and solar panel installations have consistently been declining in the past few years. This is due to the development of better technology and improved production methods in the manufacturing of these products.

We receive enough solar power in a day to meet human energy consumption for a year. If only a small amount of the suns output were harnessed, the world would not face such a massive energy crisis. The problem is that most of the solar energy remains unutilized. Unless more and more people invest in solar panels for their homes and solar power devices, the sun’s powerful energy will go to waste.

Moreover, unimaginable as it may seem, over a billion people in the world do not have access to electricity. Solar energy would be the cheapest and most efficient energy source available to them. As the price of photovoltaic cells and solar panels get lower, far-flung places in many countries can finally enjoy the benefits of electricity through solar power.

Solar energy is definitely a promising industry. Its growth also heralds in cheaper electricity bills, a cleaner environment – and an overall positive change for humanity.