Solar panels have been one of the driving technologies behind renewable energy for the last 40 years, but have really taken off since about 2015. This is partly due to the drastic increase in efficiency and drop in price since the 1970s of almost 100% and in the last 10 years of about 90%. In 2022 compared to just 2021, world-wide solar energy production rose 26% and supplied 4.5% of the world’s total energy. By 2030, projections are that solar will be the leading source of all energy forms, both renewable and fossil-fuel.