All Optimistic Issue: Solar is Sooooo Hot; Win a Power Metal Prize!

And more about the human and environmental costs of renewable energy and digital technology —and how we can do better.

These last few weeks, there’s been a whole lot of bad news in the world, as well as in this newsletter. To be honest, I’m pretty fed up with being bummed out. So in this week’s Power Metal I’m bringing you nothing but good, or at least good-ish, news! Don’t thank me—it’s as much for my own mental health as yours.

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Solar Power is Sooooo Hot Right Now

Renewable energy has been growing faster than anyone expected for the last couple of years, and it’s only speeding up.  “Clean energy is entering the energy system at an unprecedented rate, including more than 560 gigawatts of new renewables capacity added in 2023,” says the International Energy Agency in its latest report on world energy trends. It’s true, as I’ve noted previously, that fossil fuel use has also increased in recent years, but it looks like the peak use of coal, oil and gas is coming into sight. “Investment flows to clean energy projects are approaching $2 trillion US each year, almost double the combined amount spent on new oil, gas and coal supply. Together with nuclear power… low-emissions sources are set to generate more than half of the world’s electricity before 2030,” the report says. Bottom line: Even though energy demand is rising, especially in developing countries, “the continued progress of transitions means that, by the end of the decade, the global economy can continue to grow without using additional amounts of oil, natural gas or coal.” 

Solar is leading the charge. Solar panels are getting cheaper all the time, and are much easier to put in place than a wind turbine, let alone a nuclear plant. China, as usual, installed far more solar power last year than anywhere else, but there’s lots coming online in the US and elsewhere, too. The IEA expects solar to become the world’s #1 source of electricity by 2033. Take that, coal!

Estimated World Electricity Generation, 2010-2035

(Thousands of Terawatt Hours)

Source: IEA, World Energy Outlook 2024

And in fact, there might be even more solar online already than we think. Much of the growth is coming from small-scale installations—ordinary people putting panels on the roofs of their homes and businesses. That’s becoming increasingly common practice in developing countries with unreliable power grids. Researchers in South Africa recently used satellite imagery to count up all those little micro-installations, reports the Atlantic, and were shocked by what they found. The total amount of energy produced from South Africa’s solar systems in 2019 was estimated at about 500 megawatts; in early 2023, the researchers estimated it was more than ten times that amount— “only 55 percent of which had been declared to the government.”

There’s good news at the other end of the size spectrum, too. According to Climate Action Now, researchers have found that big solar farms in deserts in China and Arizona interrupt wind and provide shade, which allows more moisture to accumulate in the soil. That moisture in turn boosts plant and microbe populations. More life for the desert, more power for us.

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There’s Still Time to Win a Preorder Prize!

This certainly counts as good news for me, at least: After three and a half years of work, my book, Power Metal: The Race for the Resources That Will Shape the Future, goes on sale everywhere next Tuesday, November 19!

Amazon just named it one of the Best Books of 2024. The esteemed British pub New Scientist is the latest to feature it, along with the Washington Post, NPR, BBC, and Scientific American. Pulitzer Prize winning author Elizabeth Kolbert calls it “an essential read for anyone concerned about the future.” And if you preorder it any time between today and November 19, you can enter for a chance to win a virtual visit from the author (that’s me) to your book club, organization meeting, high school reunion, or any occasion you like. I can give a reading, answer questions, you name it. If you don’t have a group, I’d be happy to talk to you one-on-one about getting a nonfiction book published, freelancing, and so on. If that sounds appealing, you can preorder here and enter the contest here.

Selling books is good for me, of course, but I also really believe the information in this book is important to us all. Preorders can really help get the word out; they send a strong signal to booksellers and the algorithms that determine whether you see something on Amazon.

Don’t have the cash? No worries. If you’d like to check out the book for free, ask your local library to stock a copy.

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More (Positive!) News Worth Knowing

🌾 Startup Harvests Critical Metals from Mining Waste

🪵 To Cut Carbon Emissions, Microsoft Builds a Data Center Out of Wood

🚴‍♀️ Ride Through This Gorgeous Bike Parking Garage

🧑🏾‍🔧 Apple’s Latest iPhones Are Easier to Repair

👣 Developers Are Building a Car-Free City in Arizona

I won’t be publishing a Power Metal newsletter next week, because I’ll be busy first promoting the book, and then partying to celebrate it. Thanks for sticking around, and see you when the hangover clears up!