Solar power continues its growth in efficiency and reputation as a robust, reliable form of energy.

Thanks to Australia and China, two trailblazers in the solar power industry, we could soon have the capability to charge every mobile phone in the world using the technology. Solar energy has been underestimated since it broke onto the scene in the early 2000s.

The International Energy Agency (IEA) has been underestimating solar from day one.

When the IEA predicted that solar capacity would reach 18 gigawatt by the year 2020, it was spectacularly wrong. The real number turned out to be more than 100 gigawatt of solar energy output last year. That’s more than enough to charge every single mobile phone in the world. Let’s all sign up to green energy contracts and use the energy to charge our phones!

India already has an airport powered entirely by solar panels, which is estimated to save 300,000 tons over 25 years. As we progress through the 2020s, the efficiency of this form of power generation is only going to increase more rapidly than it did during the previous two decades. Carbon emissions worldwide will certainly drop fast.