When you think of solar power, you’re probably picturing a photovoltaic (PV) system. These systems utilize solar panels to capture sunlight and convert it into electricity through cells made of superconductor materials. When sun rays hit a solar panel, the PV cells in the panel absorb the light’s energy, creating electrical charges that move along an internal electric field in the cell to produce electricity.
Concentrating solar-thermal power (CSP) systems utilize mirrors to reflect and concentrate sunlight toward receivers that collect solar energy and convert it to heat. This heat is then used to produce electricity or stored for later use. This type of solar technology is most commonly used by large power plants.
Today, solar power is more accessible, prevalent, and affordable than it has ever been. The U.S. solar power industry is thriving, experiencing an average annual growth rate of 42% in the last decade alone. In 2020, 43% of all new electric capacity added to the grid came from solar power. And in 2021, the U.S. installed 5.7 gigawatts (GWdc) of solar PV to reach 108.7 GWdc of total installed capacity—that’s enough to power 18.9 million American homes!
As of 2020, over 230,000 Americans were employed in the solar industry at over 10,000 companies located in all 50 states. In the same year, over $25 billion of private investments in the solar industry was pumped into the American economy.
While California has traditionally dominated the U.S. solar market, other markets are continuing to expand rapidly. In 2020, states outside of California achieved their largest share of the market in the last decade, led by rapid growth in Florida and Texas. As the price of solar continues to fall, new states will grab an increasingly larger share of the national solar market.
The success of solar in the U.S. is largely due to strong federal policies like the solar Investment Tax Credit, rapidly declining costs, and increasing demand across the private and public sector for clean electricity—all of which are projected to support strong future growth.
Released on September 8, 2021, the Solar Futures Study produced by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Solar Energy Technologies Office (SETO) and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) found that solar energy could account for as much as 40% of the nation’s electricity supply by 2035—and 45% by 2050—with large-scale electrification, supportive policies, and aggressive cost reductions.
To reach these numbers, “solar deployment will have to grow by an average of 30 gigawatts alternating current (GWac) each year between now and 2025 and ramp-up to 60 GW per year between 2025 and 2030—four times its current deployment rate—to total 1,000 GWac of solar power deployed by 2035.” One takeaway from this report is that virtually guaranteed growth is on the horizon.
Market expectations include a shift from a subsidy-driven model to a competitive pricing model (Power Purchase Agreements PPA) and an increasing focus on developing batteries and storage solutions to store all that solar power.
Solar energy doesn’t require burning any fossil fuels to produce electricity. It’s produced by the sun, which isn’t set to expire for 5 billion years, making solar power a renewable energy source that can be accessed every day in all parts of the world. Solar technology is also reliable, confirmed in a study by the NREL that found only .05% of PV modules experience failure per year during their lifetime.
Since solar panels are most commonly installed on building roofs, they don’t require land surface that could be used for other purposes. It’s estimated that by 2050, ground-based solar technologies would only require 0.5% of the contiguous U.S. surface area.
Since 2014, the average cost of solar PV panels has dropped nearly 70%. Solar energy markets are maturing rapidly, making solar electricity economically competitive with conventional energy sources in most states. U.S. solar potential is exceptionally promising: PV panels on just 22,000 square miles of the nation’s total land area (about the size of Lake Michigan) could supply enough electricity to power the entire United States.
With such exceptional growth on the horizon, the solar industry will increase the number of jobs available to Americans across the country, strengthening the economy and economic competitiveness of the country.
“Solar hardware costs have fallen dramatically, but market barriers and grid integration challenges continue to hinder greater deployment. Non-hardware solar “soft costs”—such as permitting, financing, and customer acquisition—are becoming an increasingly larger fraction of the total cost of solar and now constitute up to 65% of the cost of a residential PV system. Technological advances and innovative market solutions are still needed to increase efficiency, drive down costs, and enable utilities to rely on solar for base-load power.”
Solar energy can only be harvested during the day when the sun is shining. At night or on exceptionally cloudy days, solar energy production will be affected. Additionally, if electricity is not used immediately, it must be stored in expensive batteries or by other means.
Like computer chips, producing solar panels is an energy-intensive process that includes mining the earth for materials, treating them, and manufacturing them into a finished product. These processes produce air pollution and heavy metal emissions while consuming lots of energy. Additionally, solar panels are estimated to last between 30-50 years, meaning proper recycling measures will need to be established.
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“Unprecedented” is a word we’ve all been hearing a lot these days. Societies around the world are facing mounting challenges—like less food, water, and energy
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