Solar power certainly isn’t just a phenomenon in the Americas – in fact, the craze has encompassed the entire world. However, there are some countries that are a little more dedicated to the business of going solar as compared to the United States. For a little more information about who’s going solar and how, check out our list below on the top countries that use solar power!
Germany. Germany is clearly the world leader in solar power. In 2009 alone, Germany installed enough solar panels to equate to 3,806 megawatts of power, which is more than Spain’s entire capacity and nearly eight times as much as the United States installed that year. Germany is expected to remain the top purchaser of solar panels for some time to come.
Spain. Spain is just behind Germany in terms of amount of solar power, but there has been a recent decrease in interest in past years. This is owed to a lack of government interest, but Spain is expected to bump up its solar capacity even more over the next few years.
Japan. Coming in at number three, Japan is truly chasing the dream of becoming entirely solar powered. Government residential PV programs, net-metering, high national solar energy goals to reach 28 GW by 2020 and 53 GW by 2030, as well as the support of local authorities and the private sector make Japan a world leader in this field. Japan has also invested nearly 9 billion in stimulus money to solar energy in 2009, and this is likely just to increase in the future.
United States. There are a number of state-led initiatives in the United States, which have helped foster the growth of solar panels. The cap on the federal solar tax credit was lifted in 2009, which is encouraging the growth of the industry even more.
These are the top four countries in terms of amount of solar panels and attention paid to solar programs. With any luck, all of us will be seeing more solar power in the next few years no matter where we live!
Did you know that you can be compensated on a state and federal level for going solar? Find out about