18 Fun Facts About Solar Energy, Each With a Real Number and Source

90 minutes of sunlight could power the whole world for a year.

That’s the amount of solar energy reaching Earth’s surface in an hour and a half, as Earth.Org reported in 2022.

And it’s just one of the fun facts about solar energy below.

You’ll get 18 of them, each with a real number, the year it was reported and the source behind it.

What Is Solar Energy?

Solar energy is the light and heat radiation from the sun that people capture and turn into electricity, as a 2022 explainer from Earth.Org defines it. Most of that electricity comes from solar panels, which rely on the photovoltaic effect.

In other words, sunlight knocks electrons loose inside a solar cell, and those moving electrons are an electric current.

Want the full path from sunlight to your wall outlet? This step-by-step breakdown follows a single photon all the way through.

Light in, electricity out: every fact below builds on that one idea.

18 Fun Facts About Solar Energy

The best fun facts about solar energy include that Earth gets about 173,000 terawatts of sunlight nonstop, that people used solar energy in 700 BC and that solar got 84% cheaper after 2009. Here are 18 of them, each with the year its source reported it.

They run from the sun’s raw power and 2,700 years of history to plans for power plants in space, starting with the sun itself.

1. Earth Gets 173,000 Terawatts of Sunlight Nonstop

Earth gets about 173,000 terawatts of solar energy nonstop, says a 2024 fact sheet from The Wilderness Society.

That’s more than 10,000 times the world’s total energy use.

A terawatt is a trillion watts, so the sun delivers far more power than every country uses, every second of the day.

2. 90 Minutes of Sunlight Could Cover a Year of Energy

The sunlight that hits Earth’s surface in 90 minutes could meet all of humanity’s energy use for a full year, per a 2022 roundup from Earth.Org.

You’ll often see this fact quoted as “one hour.”

But the figure from this source is 90 minutes, so use that if you want to be exact.

Here’s the math: a year has 525,600 minutes, so 90 of them is less than 0.02% of the year.

Either way, the takeaway is the same: the limit on solar power is how much we capture, not how much sunlight arrives.

3. People Used Solar Energy as Far Back as 700 BC

People used solar energy as far back as 700 BC, according to Earth.Org. Yet solar wasn’t widely sold until about 40 years before that 2022 report.

Panels are only one way to use sunlight, and the active and passive methods people rely on today range from mirrors to sun-warmed walls.

4. Edmond Becquerel Discovered Solar Power Over 200 Years Ago

French physicist Edmond Becquerel discovered over 200 years ago that energy could be harnessed from the sun’s rays, according to the 2024 conservation fact sheet.

That’s more than a century before Bell Labs built the silicon cell in fact #5.

5. Bell Labs Built the First Silicon Solar Cell in 1954

Bell Laboratories built the first silicon solar cell in 1954, the precursor of every solar-powered device since, the same 2024 fact sheet reports.

The New York Times called it “the beginning of a new era.”

You can trace every step from that cell to today’s panels in this full solar panel timeline.

6. Solar Power Got 84% Cheaper After 2009

The cost of unsubsidized solar has fallen 84% since 2009, according to The Wilderness Society (2024).

Unsubsidized means the price before any tax credits or rebates.

Say a solar project cost $100 in 2009, as a made-up round number. At 84% cheaper, the same unsubsidized solar would have cost about $16 by 2024.

In fact, a 2020 report from IRENA, the global renewable energy agency, called solar the cheapest electricity in history.

So if someone calls solar too expensive, ask what year their prices come from.

Panels still aren’t free, of course, and this look at what drives solar panel costs shows where the money goes.

7. 99% of US Coal Plants Cost More to Run Than New Solar

99% of existing U.S. coal plants cost more to keep running than new solar or wind farms nearby would cost to build. That’s from the 2024 conservation fact sheet.

Read that again.

This isn’t new coal versus new solar: simply running an old coal plant now costs more than building fresh solar or wind next door.

8. Solar Made Up Three-Quarters of New Renewable Capacity in 2023

Solar alone made up three-quarters of all new renewable capacity in 2023. That’s the International Energy Agency count, per The Wilderness Society.

The same agency projected that worldwide solar capacity could pass natural gas by 2026 and coal by 2027.

Capacity is how much power the panels can make from the sunlight they catch.

Key Takeaway: When you hear about the “renewable boom,” most of it is solar.

9. Solar Generated 3.1% of the World’s Electricity in 2020

Solar panels made 921 terawatt-hours of power in 2020, about 3.1% of the world’s electricity, says Earth.Org.

That was a record jump of 156 terawatt-hours, or 23% growth in a single year.

Now compare it with 2010, when solar made up only 0.06% of the global energy mix, per the same 2022 roundup.

Not bad for a decade.

10. The US Ranks Second in Solar Power, Behind China

The United States ranks second in the world in solar energy production, after China, according to The Wilderness Society (2024).

The top 5 U.S. states for solar generation are California, Texas, Florida, North Carolina and Nevada.

Solar is also the fastest-growing energy source in the U.S., the same fact sheet adds. It’s expected to be the biggest source of power capacity on the U.S. grid by 2050.

China’s lead built up fast: it alone drove 75% of the increase in annual solar installations from 2019 to 2020, per Earth.Org.

For capacity figures and policies country by country, see these 10 countries using the most solar.

11. Almost 1 in 3 Australian Homes Has Solar Panels

Almost one-third of Australian households have solar panels, the highest rate in the world, according to a 2022 report from Earth.Org.

In 2021 alone, Australians installed a record of more than 3,000 megawatts of rooftop solar panels.

That’s what solar looks like when a sunny country makes rooftops the default.

12. Solar Emits 20 Times Less Carbon Than Coal Over Its Life

Solar power’s life-cycle emissions are about 12 times lower than natural gas and 20 times lower than coal, according to the 2024 conservation fact sheet.

Life-cycle means every stage counts. Solar makes no emissions while it runs, so that small footprint comes from making, shipping, installing and finally removing the system.

In numbers, most estimates put PV at 0.07 to 0.18 pounds of carbon dioxide equivalent per kilowatt-hour, as Earth.Org reported in 2022.

Carbon is only part of the story, and solar’s other environmental wins include its water use and noise.

13. Powering 1,000 Homes Takes About 32 Acres

A solar plant that powers 1,000 homes needs about 32 acres of land. That figure comes from the National Renewable Energy Lab (NREL), says Earth.Org.

Scale that up and the numbers get interesting.

For example, a hypothetical town of 10,000 homes would need about 320 acres at that rate, or 10 times the 32-acre plant.

Covering all U.S. energy needs with solar plants would take about 18,734,500 acres, roughly 0.8% of the country, per the same 2022 report.

That land isn’t wasted space, either, since a utility farm packs panels, trackers and inverters into every acre.

14. Solar Power Plants Can Run 40 Years or More

Solar power plants can last 40 years or more, says a 2022 report from Earth.Org. That’s because worn panels can be swapped for newer, better ones at a fairly low cost.

The panels themselves last about three decades on average, per the same source.

So a solar farm built in 2026 could still be running in the 2060s.

15. Most Panels Turned 15% to 20% of Sunlight Into Power in 2022

Most solar panels were 15% to 20% efficient as of 2022, meaning they turned that share of the sunlight they absorbed into electricity, Earth.Org reported.

That sounds low.

But remember fact #1: with 173,000 terawatts arriving, even a fifth of the light adds up fast.

The same report notes efficiency has improved steadily, and this explainer covers why panels top out where they do.

16. The US Solar Industry Employed More Than 255,000 People

The U.S. solar industry had more than 255,000 workers as of 2022, according to The Wilderness Society. It was adding jobs five times faster than the job market as a whole.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics expects solar installer jobs to grow 27% from 2021 to 2031. That’s one of the fastest rates of any job.

Pro Tip: Curious about that work? These solar jobs you can get without a degree come with pay and training times.

17. Morocco’s Noor Complex Can Power Over 1 Million People

The Noor Complex in Morocco is the world’s largest concentrated solar power (CSP) plant, Earth.Org reported in 2022. Its 580 megawatts can supply more than 1 million people.

Its Sahara location gives it ideal access to sunlight, per the same report.

Panel farms get their own records, and the biggest panel farms on Earth are ranked by size.

18. Space Solar Panels Could Make 2,000 Gigawatts Nonstop

Solar panels in space could make up to 2,000 gigawatts of power nonstop, by estimates Earth.Org reported in 2022.

Why so much?

Panels in orbit would sit in direct, more powerful sunlight all the time, instead of light filtered through the atmosphere.

The idea is moving from science fiction to planning: the European Space Agency launched a campaign in 2020 to collect ideas for space-based solar power.

Easy Solar Energy Facts for Kids

The easiest solar energy facts for kids are these 5 from the list, in plain words:

• The sun gives Earth way more energy than all the people in the world use (#1).
• People were using the sun’s energy as far back as 700 BC (#3).
• Scientists built the first silicon solar cell in 1954, more than 70 years ago (#5).
• Almost 1 in 3 homes in Australia has solar panels on the roof (#11).
• One solar plant in Morocco’s desert makes enough power for over 1 million people (#17).

Facts stick even better when kids can build something that runs on sunshine.

That’s where a small kit helps: these solar kits for kids are ranked by age group, so you can pick one that fits.

Solar Myths These Facts Bust

Real numbers from this list bust the 4 most common solar myths:

• “Solar is a new invention.” People used the sun’s energy around 700 BC, and the science behind panels is over 200 years old (#3 and #4).
• “Solar is too expensive.” Unsubsidized solar got 84% cheaper after 2009, and running most old U.S. coal plants now costs more than building new solar (#6 and #7).
• “Solar takes up too much land.” All U.S. energy from solar plants would need about 0.8% of the country’s land (#13).
• “Panels wear out fast.” Panels last about three decades, and solar plants can run 40 years or more (#14).

So the next time someone repeats one of these myths, you’ll have the number ready.

Where These Solar Facts Come From

Every fact in this list comes from 2 sources: a 2022 roundup from Earth.Org and a 2024 fact sheet from The Wilderness Society. Both draw on the IEA, IRENA, NREL and the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Both list their dates, which matters because solar numbers change fast.

So treat each figure as true for its year, not as today’s number.

Note: Before you repeat a solar number, check its year and say it: “As of 2022…” keeps a fun fact true.