Europe Leads the way in Solar energy!

Enough solar energy falls on the earth’s surface in twenty minutes to meet our needs for a year. Exploiting this resource is essential in light of our growing energy use and continued battle against man-made global warming.

We can harness the sun’s energy directly for domestic space and water heating, or a proportion of its energy can be converted into electricity using photovoltaic technology.

Europe has invested heavily in solar power in the past decade. The available data shows that over the period 1996-2007, the amount of energy generated using the sun’s rays has quadrupled within the European Union.
Although not in the EU, Turkey has always been a believer in the power of the sun. It topped the table in 1996, generating nearly twice as much energy as its nearest rival, Greece. The majority of the energy exploited in Turkey was used for domestic hot water.

Recognising the need to secure future energy supplies, Germany has picked up the baton as the solar energy leaders of not only Europe, but the world. Heavy investment in manufacturing and a scheme paying solar panel owners a premium for their electricity has seen its solar energy generation increase by over 800% in 11 years.

• DATA: European solar energy production

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