Solar can provide 20% of world electricity on northern summer solstice, thinktank says

The world has enough solar power capacity to generate a fifth of its midday peak electricity needs on the longest day of the year in the northern hemisphere, up from 16% last year, a report said

The world has enough solar power capacity to generate a fifth of its midday peak electricity needs on the longest day of the year in the northern hemisphere, up from 16% last year, a report by thinktank Ember showed on Friday.

Solar power is currently the fastest growing source of electricity due to falling technology costs, and is expected to become the biggest source of electricity before 2050, some researchers have said.

Last year, solar generated a record 5.5% of global electricity, the Ember report added, and 34 economies in the world are now generating over 10% of their electricity from solar power.

The northern hemisphere's summer solstice on June 21 is the longest day of the year, but all days in June are similar enough in length that solar generation on that day will be close to the monthly average, based on calculations of the weighted average of hourly solar generation data.

Ember estimates 89% of the world's solar panels are installed in the northern hemisphere.

Based on a 24-hour average, solar can provide 8.2% of global total electricity on June 21.

For June as a whole, Ember expects the share of solar in total electricity generation to reach 9.6% in China, which is the largest solar market in the world.