Solar power, the generation of electricity from sunlight, is the world’s largest energy resource and also the largest available energy source in the United States. With a new administration in the White House, there has been a renewed focus on the environment and alternative energy solutions. President Obama recently passed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, providing over $80 billion toward clean energy investments and including an emphasis on solar power. Prior to this investment, solar energy grew at a record pace in the United States. In 2008, “the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) released its 2008 U.S. Solar Industry Year in Review which found that U.S. solar energy capacity increased by 17% last year, reaching the total equivalent of 8,775 megawatts (MW).”1 Funding for solar projects continues to grow at the State and Federal level for both residential and commercial institutions, causing solar energy deployment to grow steadily across the country.
With proper support, the United States has the potential to receive 10 percent of its power from the sun by the year 2030. This goal was recently released in the report Building a Solar Future: Repowering America’s Homes, Businesses and Industry with Solar Energy,2 presented by the Washington, D.C. based federation of environmental advocacy organizations, Environment America, and Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders. The report examines a wide variety of solar technologies and tools—including photovoltaics, concentrating solar power, solar water heaters, solar space heating, and passive solar design. The press release also states that, “getting 10 percent of our energy from solar energy within two decades is equivalent to the energy that the U.S. currently produces at nuclear power plants, more than half the energy currently consumed in American cars and light trucks, or nearly half as much energy as we currently obtain from burning coal. Solar energy can play a major role in weaning the nation from dangerous, polluting, unstable and, in many cases, increasingly expensive forms of energy.”3 Already, Senator Sanders has introduced legislation that would offer substantial rebates to firms that purchase and use solar power roof panels through 2019, but there is still room for progress.
At the Federal level, aside from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, the federal tax credit for solar was extended for eight years as part of the financial bail out bill, H.R. 1424, until the end of 2016. It was estimated that this would create 440,000 jobs, 28 gigawatts of solar power, and lead to a $300 billion investment in solar energy.4 At the State level, 27 states offer loans for solar projects including property tax financing. Below is a snap shot of some of the solar power success stories across the Untied States:
- In the report mentioned above from Environment America, “they praised the efforts of Wal-Mart, Frito-Lay, and the Boston Red Sox in cutting energy costs and reducing emissions through solar power. According to the advocacy group, Wal-Mart’s use of skylights has reduced the need for electric lighting by up to 20-percent, the Massachusetts-based Major League Baseball franchise is one of many businesses to switch to solar water heaters, and the snack-food manufacturer is currently using solar concentrators to help cook its products.”5
- The San Francisco Board of Supervisors passed solar incentives of up to $6,000 for homeowners and up to $10,000 for businesses that began in the summer of 2008.6
- The California Solar Initiative has set a goal of creating 3,000 megawatts of new, solar-produced electricity by 2016.7 In addition, California’s electric utility companies are required to use renewable energy to produce 20 percent of their power by 2010 and 33 percent by 2020. A main source of renewable power will be solar energy.8
- Many large solar energy projects are being proposed in California’s desert area on federal Bureau of Land Management (BLM) land. BLM has received right-of-way requests encompassing more than 300,000 acres for the development of approximately 34 large solar thermal power plants totaling approximately 24,000 megawatts.9
- First Solar recently announced a power purchase agreement to supply Pacific Gas and Electric Company with renewable electricity from a 300-megawatt (AC) utility-scale photovoltaic solar power facility that First Solar is developing in Southern California. This project, known as the Desert Sunlight project, has the potential to power almost 200,000 homes.10
- In New Jersey, Utility PSE&G has selected four sites and developers for over $50 million in investments in 12 megawatts of grid-connected solar energy. PSE&G hopes to start construction at its sites in Edison, Hamilton, Linden, and Trenton this spring, with projects completed this summer and fall.11
Although the success stories listed above are just a small sample of solar advancements across the U.S., they show the potential for future success. From residential homes, to college institutions, to breweries, to convention centers, solar power is making its mark across the United States. In the coming years, it will be up to the local, state, and federal governments to implement more public policy for solar energy to continue to grow.
