Bill McKibben makes a powerful pitch for solar in optimistic new book

In Here Comes the Sun, environmentalist Bill McKibben argues that the rapid adoption of solar power should quell our worst climate fears. Is he right, asks James Dinneen

The sun is rising on solar power. According to Ember, an energy think tank, solar energy has been the world’s fastest growing source of electricity for the past 20 years, and it is accelerating.

In 2022, solar power capacity surpassed 1 terawatt for the first time. Just two years later, it had doubled, generating 7 per cent of the world’s electricity. When you include wind turbines (which capture the sun’s energy via a different mechanism), the sun generated 15 per cent of Earth’s electricity last year.

Cover photo:  STR/AFP via Getty Images