{"id":5450,"date":"2019-08-14T07:11:44","date_gmt":"2019-08-14T07:11:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ecotality.com\/?p=5450"},"modified":"2021-03-16T13:02:43","modified_gmt":"2021-03-16T13:02:43","slug":"how-many-solar-panels-to-power-the-world","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ecotality.com\/how-many-solar-panels-to-power-the-world\/","title":{"rendered":"How Many Solar Panels Needed to Power the World?"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t<div data-elementor-type=\"wp-post\" data-elementor-id=\"5450\" class=\"elementor elementor-5450\" data-elementor-post-type=\"post\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-5ddee31 lead-section elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"5ddee31\" data-element_type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-f0f0849\" data-id=\"f0f0849\" data-element_type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-731f79b article-title elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"731f79b\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t<h1 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">How Many Solar Panels Would Be Needed to Power the World?<\/h1>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-inner-section elementor-element elementor-element-658a13c toc-and-author-bio-section elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"658a13c\" data-element_type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-50 elementor-inner-column elementor-element elementor-element-1c6bcc1 left-column\" data-id=\"1c6bcc1\" data-element_type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-ed28932 table-of-contents elementor-widget elementor-widget-shortcode\" data-id=\"ed28932\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"shortcode.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-shortcode\"><div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_55 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\">Page Contents<\/p>\n<nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/ecotality.com\/how-many-solar-panels-to-power-the-world\/#How-We-Reached-This-Number\" title=\"How We Reached This Number\">How We Reached This Number<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/ecotality.com\/how-many-solar-panels-to-power-the-world\/#How-Much-Space-Would-Be-Required\" title=\"How Much Space Would Be Required?\">How Much Space Would Be Required?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/ecotality.com\/how-many-solar-panels-to-power-the-world\/#The-Costs-Involved\" title=\"The Costs Involved\">The Costs Involved<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/ecotality.com\/how-many-solar-panels-to-power-the-world\/#Key-Takeaways\" title=\"Key Takeaways\">Key Takeaways<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-50 elementor-inner-column elementor-element elementor-element-5eac015 right-column\" data-id=\"5eac015\" data-element_type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-78e4759 author-bio elementor-widget elementor-widget-shortcode\" data-id=\"78e4759\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"shortcode.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-shortcode\"><script type=\"application\/ld+json\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t{\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t  \"@context\": \"https:\/\/schema.org\/\",\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t  \"@type\": \"Person\",\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t  \"name\": \"Aniket\",\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t  \"url\": \"https:\/\/ecotality.com\/author\/aniket\/\",\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t  \"image\": \"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/324fd7f9d0b3e667f7223919e56f046a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t  \"jobTitle\": \"Author\"  \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/script><p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"author-bio-avatar\" src=\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/324fd7f9d0b3e667f7223919e56f046a?s=50&amp;d=mm&amp;r=g\" alt=\"Aniket\" width=\"50\" height=\"50\" \/><\/p><p class=\"author-bio-text\"><span class=\"written-by-text\">Written by<\/span> <span class=\"job-title\">qualified solar engineer<\/span> <span class=\"author-name\">Aniket<\/span><span class=\"written-by-period\">.<\/span> <span class=\"last-updated-text\">Last updated:<\/span> <time datetime=\"2021-03-16 13:02:43\">March 16, 2021<\/time><\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-4caed31 elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"4caed31\" data-element_type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-b3770e9\" data-id=\"b3770e9\" data-element_type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-5ff3f74 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"5ff3f74\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>A total of 51.42 billion solar panels would be needed to power the entire world on solar energy. Here we are supposing a panel size of 350W for the calculated size of 18TW of solar plants. How do we arrive at this number? We receive a staggering 1.74*10<sup>17 <\/sup>watts of energy from it. To put this into perspective, this is about 10,000 times more than what humans need.\u00a0 In 2018, the world consumed about <a href=\"https:\/\/yearbook.enerdata.net\/electricity\/electricity-domestic-consumption-data.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">23,000 tera-watt-hours of energy<\/a>, in that single year, which translates to an average consumption of 63 TWh daily. Taking that into account, we would need an approximate total of 18 TW of solar.<\/p>\n<p>The sun has always been the source of all energy on Earth. Plant-based, fossil-based, wind or water, all energy is a consequence of the energy delivered by the sun.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><picture><source srcset=\"https:\/\/ecotality.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/Multiple-worked-installing-a-solar-panel-farm-in-a-field.webp 740w,https:\/\/ecotality.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/Multiple-worked-installing-a-solar-panel-farm-in-a-field-300x142.webp 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 740px) 100vw, 740px\" type=\"image\/webp\"><img src=\"https:\/\/ecotality.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/Multiple-worked-installing-a-solar-panel-farm-in-a-field.jpg\" height=\"350\" width=\"740\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ecotality.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/Multiple-worked-installing-a-solar-panel-farm-in-a-field.jpg 740w, https:\/\/ecotality.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/Multiple-worked-installing-a-solar-panel-farm-in-a-field-300x142.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 740px) 100vw, 740px\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-14324 sp-no-webp\" alt=\"Multiple workers installing a solar panel farm in a field\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\"  > <\/picture><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-size: 20px;\">FPL Miami-Dade Solar Energy Center Tour in Miami (Source \u2013 <a href=\"https:\/\/sfbwmag.com\/fpl-plans-to-build-worlds-largest-solar-powered-battery-system\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">SFBWmag<\/a>)<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"How-We-Reached-This-Number\"><\/span>How We Reached This Number<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>1 kWh of energy can light a 10W lamp for 100 hours, or a 1000W water heater for one hour (W*h =Wh, kW*h = kWh). Add nine zeros in front of a kWh, and you get a TWh. Considering the average total sunshine hours (including shading, orientation, dust and other losses) to be around 3.5, the <a href=\"https:\/\/ecotality.com\/how-much-energy-does-a-solar-panel-produce\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">average amount of energy produced<\/a> by 1 TW of solar plants will be 1TW*3.5h = 3.5 TWh per day.<\/p>\n<p>Thus, to generate 63 TWh per day, we would need 63\/3.5 = 18 TW of solar power plants. Selecting one of the largest sizes of panels, i.e. 350W, we would require the above-mentioned number of 51.4 billion panels (18000000000000W\/350W = 51.42 billion panels).<\/p>\n<p>A single large solar plant with over 50 billion panels is a fantastic thing to imagine. However, we have to keep in mind that constructing a single such plant would be impossible, from the economical, logistical and technological aspects. Despite this, it would be a realistic aim to cover various suitable locations all over the world with a collective 50+ billion panels.<\/p>\n<p>It would be also interesting to understand <a href=\"https:\/\/ecotality.com\/how-many-solar-panels-to-power-the-us\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">the amount of solar panels needed to power the U.S<\/a>. and other nations with high per capita consumption. Adding up those numbers can help get a clear and realistic picture.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"How-Much-Space-Would-Be-Required\"><\/span>How Much Space Would Be Required?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Solar panels, at least the modern ones, operate with an efficiency or around 20%. This means that out of the total energy that light brings with it, only a fifth is converted into electricity, that too in ideal conditions. What this means for us is that space is an important investment as far as solar power is concerned.<\/p>\n<p>Speaking of residential plans, the amount of <a href=\"https:\/\/ecotality.com\/how-many-solar-panels-do-you-need\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">solar panels needed to power an average home<\/a> can be anywhere between 7 and 100, depending on how large the house and its consumption is.<\/p>\n<p>In case of large systems, as a rule of thumb, a typical solar system of 1MW capacity requires an area of 5 acres, or over 200,000 square feet. Thus, for a terawatt, after doing some math, it will require about 7,800 square miles.<\/p>\n<p><picture><source srcset=\"https:\/\/ecotality.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/Solar-panel-farm-in-the-Negev-desert-e1565722669519.webp 500w,https:\/\/ecotality.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/Solar-panel-farm-in-the-Negev-desert-e1565722669519-300x199.webp 300w,https:\/\/ecotality.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/Solar-panel-farm-in-the-Negev-desert-e1565722669519-354x235.webp 354w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" type=\"image\/webp\"><img src=\"https:\/\/ecotality.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/Solar-panel-farm-in-the-Negev-desert-e1565722669519.jpg\" height=\"331\" width=\"500\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ecotality.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/Solar-panel-farm-in-the-Negev-desert-e1565722669519.jpg 500w, https:\/\/ecotality.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/Solar-panel-farm-in-the-Negev-desert-e1565722669519-300x199.jpg 300w, https:\/\/ecotality.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/Solar-panel-farm-in-the-Negev-desert-e1565722669519-354x235.jpg 354w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-5505 sp-no-webp\" alt=\"Solar panel farm in the Negev desert\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\"  > <\/picture><\/p>\n<p>This is about the size of a country like Israel or Slovenia, and larger than the area of some other countries. But as discussed before, it is highly unlikely that we can succeed building this gigantic single solar plant in one place. But a cumulative area of 7,800 square miles throughout the world is what we can practically aim at.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"The-Costs-Involved\"><\/span>The Costs Involved<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>As much as the amount in the power generation per panel varies with location, the cost also varies from state to state and country to country. These variations can be attributed to differences in costs of manpower, transportation and even materials.<\/p>\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/ecotality.com\/how-much-do-solar-panels-cost-to-install\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">cost of installing solar panels<\/a> for a megawatt capacity is around a million USD. Whereas, in countries like India and Brazil the costs are significantly lower, somewhere between 0.6 and 0.8 million USD. Assuming the 1 million\/MW cost, the global63TW plant would require 63 quadrillion (63*1015) US dollars to be built.<\/p>\n<p>That is equivalent to a lot of countries\u2019 GDP combined together, and this precisely is the reason we need all countries to believe together in a solar powered future.<\/p>\n<p>While dealing with costs, we do have to keep in mind that although free, a solar system does not last for an indefinite period. Looking at the <a href=\"https:\/\/ecotality.com\/how-long-do-solar-panels-last\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">average lifespan of a solar panel<\/a>, it is clear that we will need renewed investments every few decades.<\/p>\n<p>Nevertheless, in the longer term it is still cheaper than fossil energy and even better for the planet. Nearly every <a href=\"https:\/\/ecotality.com\/climate-change-report-how-advantages-of-solar-energy-help\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">climate change report<\/a> has stressed on the immediate need of solar power acceleration.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Key-Takeaways\"><\/span>Key Takeaways<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>It would not be wrong to say that with today\u2019s technology costs and abundance of sunlight, solar power may soon become mainstream. A world powered entirely from solar is not as impossible as it sounds. The costs required for the same may sound huge but are actually profitable and ecologically more sensible in the longer term.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-506a7bd references-section elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"506a7bd\" data-element_type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-3ab1521\" data-id=\"3ab1521\" data-element_type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-8daae9c references-heading elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"8daae9c\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t<h4 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">References<\/h4>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-9f2ef85 references elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"9f2ef85\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<ol>\n\t<li><a href=\"https:\/\/ag.tennessee.edu\/solar\/Pages\/What%20Is%20Solar%20Energy\/Sun's%20Energy.aspx\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">The Sun&#8217;s Energy<\/a> &#8211; UTIA<\/li>\n\t<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.investopedia.com\/articles\/investing\/061115\/economics-solar-power.asp\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">The Economics of Solar Power<\/a> &#8211; Investopedia<\/li>\n<\/ol>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-22addeea post-rating-section elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"22addeea\" data-element_type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-15f95c4f\" data-id=\"15f95c4f\" data-element_type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-1ebf072 elementor-widget elementor-widget-shortcode\" data-id=\"1ebf072\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"shortcode.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-shortcode\"><!-- Rate my Post Plugin --><div  class=\"rmp-widgets-container rmp-wp-plugin rmp-main-container js-rmp-widgets-container js-rmp-widgets-container--5450 \"  data-post-id=\"5450\">    <!-- Rating widget -->  <div class=\"rmp-rating-widget js-rmp-rating-widget\">          <p class=\"rmp-heading rmp-heading--title\">        We hope you liked this article. Please rate it or leave us a comment.      <\/p>            <div class=\"rmp-rating-widget__icons\">      <ul class=\"rmp-rating-widget__icons-list js-rmp-rating-icons-list\">                  <li class=\"rmp-rating-widget__icons-list__icon js-rmp-rating-item\" data-descriptive-rating=\"Not at all useful\" data-value=\"1\">            <i class=\"js-rmp-rating-icon rmp-icon rmp-icon--ratings rmp-icon--star rmp-icon--full-highlight\"><\/i>          <\/li>                  <li class=\"rmp-rating-widget__icons-list__icon js-rmp-rating-item\" data-descriptive-rating=\"Somewhat useful\" data-value=\"2\">            <i class=\"js-rmp-rating-icon rmp-icon rmp-icon--ratings rmp-icon--star rmp-icon--full-highlight\"><\/i>          <\/li>                  <li class=\"rmp-rating-widget__icons-list__icon js-rmp-rating-item\" data-descriptive-rating=\"Useful\" data-value=\"3\">            <i class=\"js-rmp-rating-icon rmp-icon rmp-icon--ratings rmp-icon--star rmp-icon--full-highlight\"><\/i>          <\/li>                  <li class=\"rmp-rating-widget__icons-list__icon js-rmp-rating-item\" data-descriptive-rating=\"Fairly useful\" data-value=\"4\">            <i class=\"js-rmp-rating-icon rmp-icon rmp-icon--ratings rmp-icon--star rmp-icon--full-highlight\"><\/i>          <\/li>                  <li class=\"rmp-rating-widget__icons-list__icon js-rmp-rating-item\" data-descriptive-rating=\"Very useful\" data-value=\"5\">            <i class=\"js-rmp-rating-icon rmp-icon rmp-icon--ratings rmp-icon--star \"><\/i>          <\/li>              <\/ul>    <\/div>    <p class=\"rmp-rating-widget__hover-text js-rmp-hover-text\"><\/p>    <button class=\"rmp-rating-widget__submit-btn rmp-btn js-submit-rating-btn\">      Submit Rating    <\/button>    <p class=\"rmp-rating-widget__results js-rmp-results \">      Average rating <span class=\"rmp-rating-widget__results__rating js-rmp-avg-rating\">3.9<\/span> \/ 5. 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Be the first to rate this post.    <\/p>    <p class=\"rmp-rating-widget__msg js-rmp-msg\"><\/p>  <\/div>  <!--Structured data -->  <script type=\"application\/ld+json\">{  \"@context\": \"http:\/\/schema.org\",  \"@type\": \"Product\",  \"aggregateRating\": {    \"@type\": \"AggregateRating\",    \"bestRating\": \"5\",    \"ratingCount\": \"53\",    \"ratingValue\": \"3.9\"  },  \"image\": \"https:\/\/ecotality.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/the-two-solar-panels-placed-on-top-of-the-world..jpg\",  \"name\": \"How Many Solar Panels Needed to Power the World?\",  \"description\": \"How Many Solar Panels Needed to Power the World?\"}<\/script>      <\/div><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>How Many Solar Panels Would Be Needed to Power the World? A total of 51.42 billion solar panels would be needed to power the entire world on solar energy. Here we are supposing a panel size of 350W for the calculated size of 18TW of solar plants. How do we arrive at this number? We &hellip;<\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more\"> <a class=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/ecotality.com\/how-many-solar-panels-to-power-the-world\/\"> <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">How Many Solar Panels Needed to Power the World?<\/span> Read More &raquo;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":14322,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"right-sidebar","site-content-layout":"plain-container","ast-site-content-layout":"","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"disabled","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"default","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"default","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"","_glsr_average":0,"_glsr_ranking":0,"_glsr_reviews":0},"categories":[25],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v20.7 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>How Many Solar Panels Needed to Power the World? - ecotality.com<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/ecotality.com\/how-many-solar-panels-to-power-the-world\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How Many Solar Panels Needed to Power the World? - ecotality.com\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"How Many Solar Panels Would Be Needed to Power the World? A total of 51.42 billion solar panels would be needed to power the entire world on solar energy. Here we are supposing a panel size of 350W for the calculated size of 18TW of solar plants. How do we arrive at this number? We &hellip; How Many Solar Panels Needed to Power the World? 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