Australia’s strong sun
Australia gets stronger sun than most developed countries. It’s an advantage that could help Australia become a renewable energy superpower, as each solar panel in Australia will generate more electricity.
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This graph shows the range of latitudes of various landmasses; e.g., Antarctica extends from the South Pole at 90 degrees to about 63 degrees. The greater a place’s latitude:
- The further they are away from the equator.
- The weaker the average solar radiation.
- The greater the difference between winter and summer radiation.
- The fewer hours of winter sun.
- The less winter solar generation.
Australia gets strong sun.
Australia gets stronger sun than most of Europe and Canada, e.g. the province of Ontario, because we are closer to the equator.
Manchester in England is as far north as Macquarie Island is south
People often think of Macquarie Island as being in the Antarctic, as it lies far south of New Zealand at 55° south. Well, Manchester in England lies at a latitude of 54° north, so Manchester is as far north as Macquarie Island is south, and both experience a similar level of sun exposure.
Northern America and northern Europe get very weak sun compared to most of Australia. Europe would be very cold without the Gulf Stream.
Two world maps superimposed
Here is a fascinating map that demonstrates this.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-4707544/Antipodes-Map-lets-dig-virtual-tunnel-Earth.html
It is two maps superimposed on one another. The first is a normal map of the world. The second map shows, for each point on the first map, where you would be if you drilled straight down through the centre of the Earth to the other side.
The closer a place is to the equator: (1) the more the sun is directly overhead, (2) the more sunshine it gets, (3) the more electricity is generated from each solar panel, and (4) the cheaper it is for that place to generate electricity from the sun. This ignores other factors, like how cloudy a place is.
From this map, you can see that:
- Australia is closer to the equator than the developed countries in northern Europe, northern Asia and northern America.
- Northern Greenland, Canada, Alaska and Russia are as far from the equator as northern Antarctica.
- Melbourne is as far from the equator as southern Spain, so most of Australia gets stronger sun than Spain and most of Europe.
- Northern Australia is as far from the equator as the border between the Sudan and Egypt.
- The southern border of the USA is about the same distance from the equator as Port Macquarie (halfway between Sydney and Brisbane). So northern Australia gets more sun than the southern USA.
Australia has quality solar resources.
So, given only the factor of sun strength (proximity to the equator), Australia has better solar resources than most developed countries – and we have other advantages too, which means Australia could become a renewable energy superpower.
Updated: 1 Dec 2024