Solar energy: Primary renewable energy

Solar energy is one of the fastest-growing renewable energy sources in the world. Solar panels convert sunlight into electricity without burning fossil fuels, making solar power a key part of the shift away from oil, gas and coal.

To meet global climate targets, the world needs to replace fossil fuels with clean, affordable energy as fast as possible. Solar power is central to that transition. It is scalable, increasingly cheap, and can be installed on rooftops, industrial sites, degraded land, farmland and large solar farms.

In this article, we explain how solar energy works, the advantages and disadvantages of solar power, and why Equinor’s limited solar investment shows the gap between the company’s green branding and its fossil fuel business model.

What is solar energy?

Solar energy is energy from the sun. Solar panels, also called photovoltaic panels or PV panels, convert sunlight into electricity. The more light the panels receive, the more electricity they can produce.

Solar power can be used in small rooftop systems, large utility-scale solar farms, or combined with batteries and other renewable technologies to provide more reliable clean electricity.

How does solar energy work?

Solar panels are made from materials that absorb particles of light called photons. When sunlight hits the panel, the energy from the photons helps move electrons inside the panel. This movement creates an electric current, which can then be used as electricity.

Sunlight hits the solar panel.
The panel absorbs energy from the light.
Electrons inside the panel start moving.
This movement creates an electric current.
The electricity can be used directly, stored in batteries, or sent to the power grid.

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Advantages and disadvantages of solar energy

Now that we know more about how solar energy works, it’s time to look at some of the advantages and disadvantages of solar energy.

Advantages of solar energy

Solar power is a clean, renewable energy source

Solar power, like other renewable energy sources such as wind power, doesn't generate carbon emissions during electricity production. This makes solar power a climate-friendly alternative to non-renewable energy sources like oil, coal and gas.

Transitioning our energy systems to renewable energy is crucial to avoid the worst consequences of climate change. In fact, the UN and the International Energy Agency have concluded that there isn’t room for any new oil, gas or coal projects if we are to limit global warming to 1.5-degrees. To meet global demands for energy we therefore have to massively scale up renewable energy production.

Solar power is affordable

Technological innovation has significantly reduced the cost of solar panels over the last few decades. In many parts of the world, solar power is the cheapest form of energy available, and much cheaper than dirty fossil fuels like oil, gas and coal that contribute to climate breakdown.

The potential of solar power is huge, especially in many countries in the global south where sunlight is abundant. If we are to maximise this potential, governments need to put in place the necessary funding mechanisms and policies needed. Governments also has to ensure that fossil fuel companies are not able to block the transition by locking up capital, resources and infrastructure in fossil fuels.

Also in the global north, homeowners and businesses are embracing the potential of solar energy to reduce electricity costs and increase energy independence. In the UK – a country perhaps not known for its sunny weather – as much as 4.9% of households have solar panels. That's 1.4 million homes with solar installations as of June 2024, according to government data, out of 28.4 million households. Though solar panels require an initial investment, many will earn this investment back relatively quickly. In the US for example, the cost to install solar has dropped by more than 73 percent since 2006.

Solar panels are flexible

Solar photovoltaics (PV) is a very modular technology that can be manufactured in large plants to create economies of scale, but that can also be deployed in very small quantities at a time.

This means that solar panels can be installed in many different places, from small residential roof-top systems up to utility-scale power generation installations.

Solar farms have even been found to be compatible with farming: in the UK grazing sheep have been found to actually do better on land where there are solar panels.

Disadvantages

Reliability

Solar panels don’t produce energy all the time, because they take energy from the sun. However, the myth that solar panels need the sun to shine to produce energy isn’t correct: Solar panels will still generate electricity during cloudy weather, rain or any other period of indirect sunlight, just not as efficiently

That being said, producing energy from solar panels can be a challenge especially for countries with long winters with little daylight such as Norway. However, some supporting technology can still make solar power a reliable source of power. Batteries are the most common method of storing solar energy for electricity. In home solar thermal systems, solar panels are used to heat water, which is also a form of clean energy storage.

Solar panel production

To be a cheap, clean and accessible solution to climate change, the world is going to need a lot of solar panels. Solar panels are made from a variety of materials, including glass, silicon and metals like aluminum and copper. Sourcing these materials and producing solar panels requires mining, which can be harmful to the environment and workers.

To avoid these harms, the solar panel industry needs to be well-regulated – including mining and production. Recycling old solar panels is another way to help avoid mining more than necessary.

Plans for new solar panels need to consider the impact on nature

Even though solar power is a much greener alternative to fossil fuels, as with all infrastructure projects there will be some associated impacts on nature and emissions. Before any new solar power project is giving the go ahead, they should be subject to local planning considerations and appropriate biodiversity impact assessments.

However it’s important to remember that solar power is a much less damaging form of energy generation compared to fossil fuels, especially controversial methods such as fracking or tar sands.

Learn more about how fossil fuels impact biodiversity here.

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The future of solar energy

Solar power is no longer a niche technology. It is now one of the main engines of the global energy transition.

In 2025, solar energy accounted for roughly three-quarters of new renewable power capacity added worldwide. Solar and wind together made up almost all net renewable capacity additions. The International Energy Agency expects solar PV to account for around 80% of global renewable power capacity growth between 2025 and 2030.

This growth is happening because solar power is cheap, fast to build and widely accepted. But the world still needs to move faster. Building more solar panels is not enough if fossil fuel companies continue developing new oil and gas fields at the same time. The climate benefit comes when renewable energy replaces fossil fuels. That means governments and companies must stop locking in new fossil fuel infrastructure and shift capital, engineering capacity and political attention into clean energy.

Fossil fuel producing nations and companies should bear the brunt of the investment needed. This is not happening at the moment: According to the IEA, oil and gas producers account for only 1% of total clean energy investment globally.

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Equinor’s lack of investment in solar power

Equinor presents itself as a broad energy company committed to the energy transition. When Statoil changed its name to Equinor in 2018, the company argued that the new name reflected an ambition to be competitive in a low-carbon society and become a major supplier of energy from wind and solar.

The reality is much weaker.

Equinor has built a limited solar portfolio, mainly through projects and partnerships in Brazil, Poland and Denmark. These investments show that Equinor can take part in the growth of solar power when it chooses to. But they remain small compared with the company’s core oil and gas business, which still dominates its strategy and investments. In 2025, 99% of the energy Equinor produced is fossil fuels, while less than 1% is renewable energy such as solar and wind.

Equinor has also been moving away from earlier renewable ambitions. In 2025, the company reduced its 2030 renewable capacity target from 12–16 GW to 10–12 GW. In June 2026, Equinor went further and dropped its 2030 renewable capacity target altogether.

At the same time, Equinor continues to invest in new oil and gas production. The company’s strategy is not to replace fossil fuels with renewables. It is to develop oil and gas in parallel. Equinor’s solar investments therefore do not prove that the company is transitioning away from oil and gas. They show the opposite: Equinor has the capital and capability to build renewable energy, but continues to prioritise fossil fuel expansion.

Equinor has on several occasions been forced to pull back adverts that give a misleading impression of the company’s commitment to renewable energy like solar power.

Conclusion

Solar power has a central role to play in a clean, affordable and climate-safe energy system. It is growing quickly, costs have fallen sharply, and it can be deployed at many different scales around the world.

But renewable energy growth will not solve the climate crisis if fossil fuel companies continue expanding oil and gas production at the same time.

Equinor should use its capital, engineering expertise and political influence to accelerate the transition to renewable energy. Instead, the company continues to rely overwhelmingly on oil and gas while presenting small renewable investments as evidence of change.

That is why Equinor must be challenged: not only to invest more in solar, wind and storage, but to stop developing new fossil fuel projects.

‍Learn more about how you can get involved in the Equinor Out coalition.