How much solar energy hits the earth?

Most of the world's population live in areas with insolation levels of 150–300 watts/m², or 3.5–7.0 kWh/m² per day. Solar radiation is absorbed by the Earth's land surface, oceans – which cover about 71% of the globe – and atmosphere. read more

Basic Energy Science’s recent report on Basic Research Needs in Solar Energy Utilization (BES 2005). The answers are given in a format suitable for a lay technical audience, and are supplemented by detailed calculations and comprehensive references.a Questions 1. read more

With these assumptions, figuring out how much solar energy hits the entire planet is relatively simple. 12.2 trillion watt-hours converts to 12,211 gigawatt-hours, and based on 8,760 hours per year, and 197 million square miles of earth’s surface (including the oceans), the earth receives about 274 million gigawatt-years of solar energy, which translates to an astonishing 8.2 million “quads” of Btu energy per year. read more

More Than Enough Solar Energy per Square Foot Hits the Earth. It may surprise you to learn that more than enough solar energy per square foot hits the earth to provide a solution for the entire energy consumption of the earth. This is measured in watt hours by scientists. read more

The relatively new knowledge of how much solar energy per square foot hits the earth has been a catalyst to development of new methods of harnessing the power of the sun. read more