The United States has more than 2,500 utility scale solar photovoltaic (PV) electricity generating installations. The United States is home to more than 2500 solar parks, several of which can power hundreds of thousands of homes.
Solar energy
in the United States is booming. Along with our partners at Wood Mackenzie Power, & Renewables and The Solar Foundation, SEIA tracks trends and trajectories in the solar industry that demonstrate the diverse and sustained growth of solar energy across the country.In the past decade alone, solar energy has experienced an average annual growth rate of 24 percent. Thanks to strong federal policies, such as the solar investment tax credit, rapidly falling costs, and increasing demand for clean electricity in the public and private sectors, there are now more than 149 gigawatts (GW) of solar capacity installed across the country, enough to supply 26 million homes. The passage of the Inflation Reduction Act has dramatically improved the benchmark projections for the solar industry over the next five years. Over the next half-decade, the IRA's long-term tax incentives and manufacturing provisions provide the market certainty needed to boost expected solar deployment by 34% compared to pre-IRA projections.
Still, the industry is awaiting guidance from the Biden Administration on the key provisions of the law. The details of this guide will have enormous implications for the industry's ability to maximize IRA potential and could generate greater growth in the coming years. In addition to boosting the massive deployment of solar energy, the IRA will spark a US renaissance. UU.
More than 50 GW of solar module manufacturing capacity has been announced, of which more than 15 GW are already under construction. This will be a boon for the industry, as it will increase supply chain reliability, create jobs, and stimulate investment in clean energy. In addition, a massive investment in the manufacture of storage batteries has been announced, and these manufacturing facilities will ensure that the solar and storage industries have access to a reliable domestic supply for future growth. You can explore SEIA's Solar Means Business report, which includes interactive maps and data tools on the top corporate users of solar energy in the U.S.
The Biden administration has set itself the goal of achieving 100% clean electricity throughout the United States. By 2035, solar energy will be key to this American energy transition. To put this trend into perspective, this graph uses data from the United States Department of Energy to see how much land would be needed to power the entire country with solar panels. It has 102.9 gigawatts of total installed solar power capacity, which equates to 965 square miles, roughly the size of the country's smallest state, Rhode Island.
This current solar capacity generates enough electricity to power 18.6 million American homes, which represents nearly 13% of the country's households. According to a report by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, it would take approximately 22,000 square miles of land filled with solar panels (roughly the size of Lake Michigan) to supply the entire country, including 141 million homes and businesses, based on 13 to 14 percent efficiency of solar modules. However, many solar panels achieve 20% efficiency, which could reduce the area needed to about 10,000 square miles, equivalent to the size of Lake Erie. Today, solar energy represents only 3% of the U.S.
total. While California has traditionally dominated the market, other states such as Florida and Texas are expanding rapidly, driven by the residential market. Between land and rooftops, the United States has more than enough space to build all the solar panels needed to power the country. Until then, the future of clean electricity will also depend on hydroelectric, nuclear, geothermal and wind energy.
Which countries are most dependent on coal? How old are the world's nuclear reactors? Visualization of the world's largest steel-producing countries We analyze the carbon emissions of electric, hybrid and combustion engine vehicles through an analysis of their life cycle emissions. For information on how different types of vehicles contribute to these emissions, the graphic above visualizes the lifecycle emissions of battery-electric, hybrid, and internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles using the Pathway report from Polestar and Rivian. Life cycle emissions are the total amount of greenhouse gases emitted during the existence of a product, including their production, use, and disposal. To compare these emissions effectively, a standardized unit called metric tons of CO2 equivalent (tCO2e) is used, which represents the different types of greenhouse gases and their global warming potential.
While it may not be surprising that battery electric vehicles (BEV) have the lowest lifecycle emissions of the three vehicle segments, we can also extract other data from the data that may not be so obvious at first. As we move towards a carbon-neutral economy, battery electric vehicles can play an important role in reducing global CO2 emissions. However, despite the lack of tailpipe emissions, it is good to note that many stages of the life cycle of a BEV are still quite emissions-intensive, specifically when it comes to manufacturing and producing electricity. Therefore, promoting the sustainability of battery production and encouraging the adoption of clean energy sources can help to further reduce BEV emissions, leading to greater environmental stewardship in the transportation sector.
Australia and Chile stand out as the largest producers of lithium, since they represent almost 77% of the world's supply. Lithium has become essential in recent years, mainly due to the rise of electric vehicles and other clean technologies that rely on lithium batteries. The infographic above uses data from the United States Geological Survey to explore the world's largest lithium-producing countries. Australia, the world's leading producer, extracts lithium directly from hard rock mines, specifically from the mineral spodumene.
Chile, along with Argentina, China and other major producers, extracts lithium from the brine. Hard rock provides greater flexibility, since the lithium housed in spodumene can be processed into lithium hydroxide or lithium carbonate. It also offers faster processing and higher quality, since spodumene generally contains a higher lithium content. Extracting lithium from brine, on the other hand, offers the advantage of reducing production costs and a lower impact on the environment.
The following Benchmark Minerals image helps analyze the carbon impact of different types of lithium extraction. That said, brine extraction can also face challenges related to water availability and environmental impacts on local ecosystems. However, Chile finally overtook the U.S. Since then, Australia's lithium production has also skyrocketed and now accounts for 47% of global lithium production.
In addition, China is currently home to nearly 60% of the world's lithium refining capacity for batteries, underlining its dominant position in the lithium supply chain. As the world increases its production of batteries and electric vehicles, demand for lithium is expected to skyrocket. By 2025, demand is expected to reach 1.5 million tons of LCE. By 2030, this figure is estimated to exceed 3 million tons.
Visualizing China's dominance in rare earth metals The 10 largest gold mining companies in the world The key minerals in an electric vehicle battery All the metals and minerals in the world in one visualization All the metals we extract in one visualization What is a commodity supercycle? Please share your location to continue. Since then, the number of U.S. homes with solar panels installed has increased by an average of 32% a year, according to the National Renewable Energy Laboratory. Doral Renewables, an Israeli company, is building a 5,260-hectare solar park in Starke and Pulaski counties, in the state of Indiana.
Solar energy is one of the fastest-growing sources of clean energy in the U.S. Department of Energy, according to the Department of Energy. Although the projected growth for the next 10 years, driven by the IRA, places the solar market within reach of the ambitious clean energy goals set by the industry and the Biden administration, more work is needed to achieve the pace required for a 100% clean energy power system. The solar industry is expected to nearly triple its cumulative deployment by 2028, as the Inflation Reduction Act provides key tax incentives and long-term certainty that will boost demand for solar energy and storage and accelerate the transition to renewable energy.
The idle costs of solar energy are still much higher than those of other developed solar markets around the world. California also leads the country in small-scale solar installations, as it is home to nearly 40% of all small-scale photovoltaic energy. A combination of private sector innovation and stable, long-term public policy will put the solar industry on the path to achieving these more aggressive goals to address climate change and decarbonize the economy. As demand for solar energy continues to grow, new state players will seize an increasing share of the domestic market.
Of the more than 3 million solar energy installations in the U.S. In the US, about 1 million were built in the past two years. .
