One story that isn’t getting enough attention is how much progress has been made by solar power. Bill McKibben’s most recent book — Here Comes The Sun — tells an upbeat tale of how we can harness the positive power of the sun. To be clear, when I talk of the positive power of The Sun, I don’t mean the power of the UK tabloid newspaper which has mostly had a pretty malign, if now declining, influence. (Although occasionally I admit it can have a funny headline). Instead, McKibben notes the incredible progress that has been made in solar power. It is important to share this to counter any feelings there is nothing that can be done. There are loads of things that can be done. Indeed, many already are being done. Solar power is only going to grow in importance, but support can make this quicker.
Can We Do This? Of Course We Can
McKibben tackles a lot of arguments against solar power. For example, do we have enough land? More than enough because solar gleans lots of energy from small areas. This is only going to get better with solar efficiency gains. We have enough land. Indeed, if land currently devoted to biofuels was devoted to solar we’d be sorted. Converting some animal land to crops would allow us to feed more people and have land left over for solar. (Raising animals for slaughter is a very inefficient process). Plus, there is plenty of land that isn’t great for agriculture but is perfect for solar.
This is without noting progress in agrovoltaics; basically solar panels interspersed within (food) farms. Contrary to any intuition that this would be a problem it can be a benefit. The panels can help the land by providing a bit of shade and stopping too much evaporation. Does it disturb cows? Nope, something I personally learned from holidays to the old family farm in Ireland, “Cows just carry on” (McKibben, 2025, page 149). Honestly, cows have always seemed a bit boring to me. Still, at least they are relaxed about a transition to renewable power which isn’t true of some people who are supposed to be cleverer.
Have we got the tech and the manufacturing capacity? China pretty much already does and is exporting solar capacity to the world. There is no reason other countries can’t develop more of their own industry.
The Positive Power Of The Sun Is Everywhere
Solar is the big theme of the book, but wind is also making great strides. McKibben focuses much more on solar than wind power but notes these forms of renewable energy are complementary. Solar is often best when the wind is weakest and vice versa. This phenomenon contributes to reducing the problem of intermittency — e.g., the sun doesn’t always shine — which batteries and other forms of energy storage are already well into addressing.
Why did McKibben focus on solar over wind. Partly this might be that “Here comes the sun” is a much better title than “Here comes the wind”.
Going Forward
McKibben makes a large number of sensible points. He tackles the counterargument to renewable energy that instead of rolling out solar we need to totally change the way we behave and radically reduce demand. Many of the points made about our destructive habits make sense. Cars could be smaller. The way we approach public transportation should be improved. It’d be great if people got used to healthier plant-based foods. But…
… people simply do not change their desires that fast.
McKibben, 2025, page 52
People can get better, and I believe they will long-term, but if we are relying on people becoming saints in the next couple of years we are in big trouble. The great thing about the progress in solar power (and wind) is it gives us time to improve as a species. Is this perfect? No but…
Idealism demands a certain amount of realism. Yes, there’s always a better place to do something, and always a better way. If we drove half as much, then we would need half as many solar panels. But unless you have a way to get people to drive half as much, then it’s petty to use that as your argument.
McKibben, 2025, page 165
A Better Future Powered By The Sun
I was really impressed by McKibben’s book. Even the slightly odd last chapter describing sun worship over history and spiritual considerations was pretty interesting if not exactly my thing.
For more positive news on sustainability see What Type Of Green Are You?, Bad Businesses Can Get Better, Hiding Their Good Works and Leapfrogging Towards A Better World.
Read: Bill McKibben (2025) Here Comes the Sun: A Last Chance for the Climate and a Fresh Chance for Civilization, W.W. Norton & Co.
