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usonian

(26,408 posts)
1. The War in Iran Is Causing China to Sell So Many Solar Panels That Your Jaw Will Drop
Sat May 9, 2026, 12:51 PM
1 hr ago
https://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=21219978

(Repost)

https://www.democraticunderground.com/100221208539

https://futurism.com/science-energy/iran-war-solar-china

The ongoing war on Iran may have drastically reduced the amount of oil passing from West Asia to the rest of the world, but there is a bright side, literally: surging solar panel sales.

According to Yale Environment 360, China has reached a record high for solar panel exports as suppliers scramble for oil alternatives. In March, one month into the US-Iran war that began on February 28, the People’s Republic doubled the number of solar panels it was exporting, distributing 68 gigawatts of photovoltaic cells and silicon wafers.

That’s an astonishing spike across one month — for context, the US has only an estimated 70 gigawatts of new solar generating capacity scheduled to come online across all of 2026 and 2027. According to data from the think-tank Ember Energy, China exported more solar capacity in March alone than the entire nation of Spain installed in the previous decade.

Per Ember, the banner month traces back to increased demand in Asia and Africa in particular. Across all of Africa, Chinese solar imports grew by 176 percent from February to March, while Chinese exports to the rest of Asia reached 39 gigawatts worth of capacity. In all, 55 countries set all-time records for Chinese solar purchases.


Nobel Environmental Prize for choking off the world's oil supply and skyrocketing solar adoption?

Wounded Bear

(64,552 posts)
6. Huge unintended consequence of trump's war on Iran...
Sat May 9, 2026, 01:41 PM
52 min ago


I hear there are spikes in EVs as well.

Melon

(1,611 posts)
2. Our local grid last summer was supplying 40%
Sat May 9, 2026, 01:03 PM
1 hr ago

Renewable. Yearly average is 36% wind and sun. We need more of this.

NNadir

(38,467 posts)
3. Really. The sun is always present and the wind is always blowing? That is a surprise.
Sat May 9, 2026, 01:20 PM
1 hr ago

The solar and wind industries depend on access to fossil fuels. It's why Germany funded Putin's war on Ukraine, and why German industry is weighted down under high electricity prices.

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