Solar, wind, and batteries are outpacing every power boom in history — and they're still speeding up

A Reddit post focused on solar, wind, and batteries argues that clean energy's recent gains are happening at an unusually fast clip.

Rather than a slow, linear shift away from oil, gas, and coal, the figures highlighted in the post suggest renewable power is gaining speed and moving faster than earlier electricity buildouts.

What happened?

According to the Reddit post sharing the analysis, Ray Wills of RenewEconomy found that once solar and wind each passed 100 terawatt-hours of generation, they expanded faster than coal, gas, hydro, and nuclear did at the same point in their development.

Willis highlighted that solar panel prices have dropped by roughly 10,000-fold while adoption has continued to climb over the past 50 years.

A model cited in the analysis suggests solar, wind, and batteries could raise renewables to about 80% of global electricity by 2035, with coal, oil, and gas pushed toward the edges of the system. Wills also contends that batteries are scaling even more quickly from their own 100 TWh "year zero."

Why does it matter?

If that pace holds, it could mean cheaper, cleaner, and more stable electricity in the very near future.

Unlike planet-warming fuels such as oil, gas, and coal, sunlight and wind do not come with recurring fuel costs, and better batteries can help store low-cost power for later use. That can mean less exposure to price spikes tied to coal and gas, along with less pollution in the air that communities breathe.

Homeowners can also pair solar panels with efficient electric appliances to drive their utility costs even lower. Beyond household savings, faster clean-energy growth could also reduce reliance on oil, gas, and coal, which contribute to harmful air pollution and rising global temperatures.

If you're looking to add solar panels to your home, look no further than EnergySage. It's free tools can help you get started, and you could even save up to $10,000 on costs with competitive bids from vetted, local installers. If buying panels isn't in your budget, Palmetto's $0 down LightReach leasing program can lower your utility rate by up to 20%. 

What are people saying?

Wills wrote that this is "the fastest shift in electricity generation in history," emphasizing that solar is "not just getting cheaper; it is sprinting down a learning curve that has held for half a century."

He also argued that some mainstream forecasts still assume "a convenient slowing of this trend," even though "every call for a slowdown since 2015 has been wrong."

If Wills's assessment is right, the move toward a renewables-heavy power system may happen far sooner than many people expected.

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