Solar panels are an extremely effective way to help combat greenhouse gas emissions by taking natural energy from the sun and converting that into electricity. Using solar panels decreases our dependance on fossil fuels, which as we have previously learned in important to reduce for sustainability purposes and the health of the earth. There are at least 92.7 billion solar panels in use throughout the world today. One year of solar power saves 12,500 pounds of carbon emissions, which is very important in the subject of sustainability. With less carbon emissions and using natural energy, there are less fossil fuels and therefore a more healthy planet.

The United States and other European countries, like Spain and Italy, and China are the driving forces in increasing the amount of solar panels used. These countries receive a lot of sunlight making this initiative to use solar panels very effective. It is predicted that the growth rate of solar panels will be 7.8% from 2022 to 2030.  The power generated from solar panels has grown by 23% since 2019, making this energy source account for 3.1% of global electricity. In America specifically, the amount of solar panels installed grew 485% from 2010 to 2013. The amount of solar panels that the U.S. had installed by 2014 was enough energy to power about 2.4 million U.S. households. According to the growth rate, solar panels are increasing around the world and saving this initiative from countries is helping to save energy globally.

citations: https://www.grandviewresearch.com/industry-analysis/solar-panels-market#:~:text=The%20global%20solar%20PV%20panels%20market%20is%20expected%20to%20grow,USD%20286.64%20billion%20by%202030.

https://www.ucsusa.org/resources/solar-power-rise

https://sunbadger.com/solar-energy-statistics/#:~:text=At%20least92.7%20billion%20solar,average%20U.S.%20residential%20solar%20installation.