What do economists suggest countries should do to increase reliance on solar energy?

• A. Invest heavily in coal-fired backup power
• B. Expand storage capacity to mitigate fluctuations in solar energy collection
• C. Build large hydropower plants
• D. Rely exclusively on daytime solar generation

Answer: (B)

Intermittent solar output creates gaps between when energy is produced and when it’s needed. To raise how much a country can rely on solar, economists emphasize expanding storage capacity so excess daytime solar can be saved for nights and cloudy periods. With more storage—batteries, pumped hydro, or thermal storage—the grid can draw on solar power whenever needed, reducing the need for fossil-fuel backups and making solar more dependable.

Other options don’t fit as well. Relying on coal-fired backup would keep fossil fuels in the system, hindering the goal of expanding solar use. Building large hydropower can help flexibility, but it doesn’t directly address solar’s variability in the same scalable way as storage. Relying exclusively on daytime solar is impractical because demand exists around the clock.