Solar Power Boom

When seventh-grader Claire Vlases first proposed putting solar panels on the roof of her school, people were skeptical. “It seemed like a wild idea,” she says. Solar panels capture energy from the sun’s rays and turn it into electricity. Two years later, Sacajawea Middle School in Bozeman, Montana, is one of more than 5,000 schools in the U.S. running on solar energy.

It’s not just schools that are going solar. People are turning to solar panels to power homes, businesses, and more. As a result, solar technology is now the fastest growing energy source in the world.

“This is something no one predicted,” says Amanda Levin of the Natural Resources Defense Council in Washington, D.C. In 2006, experts estimated that within 10 years, the U.S. would have enough solar panels to generate 0.8 gigawatts of electricity. That’s enough power for about 300,000 homes. But by 2016 there were enough panels installed to generate 39.3 gigawatts!

The main reason for solar power’s surprising rise, Levin says, is cost. Since 2009, the price of installing solar panels has fallen dramatically. That makes solar energy competitive with other energy sources, like coal, that pollute the environment. “It means we can continue to have growth and prosperity while also making our air healthier,” Levin says.

Claire, now in ninth grade, raised more than $120,000 to install solar panels on her high school. She plans to put panels on local elementary schools with any extra cash. “Solar just makes sense,” she says.