REM: World may have crossed solar power 'tipping point', says study

The world may have crossed a "tipping point" that will inevitably make solar power the main source of energy, suggests new research.

The study, published in the journal Nature Communications, finds that solar photovoltaics (PV) is likely to become the dominant power source before 2050 – even without support from more ambitious climate policies. This is based on a data-driven model of technology and economics.

The study was led by the University of Exeter in the UK and University College London (UCL).

Solar energy is the most widely available energy resource, and its economic attractiveness is improving fast in a cycle of increasing investment, says the study. “We find that, due to technological trajectories set in motion by past policy, a global irreversible solar tipping point may have passed where solar energy gradually comes to dominate global electricity markets, without any further climate policies,” the researchers said.