By 2035, solar energy could account for 40% of U.S. electricity

WASHINGTON (AP) – Solar power could provide up to 40% of the nation’s electricity within 15 years – a 10-fold increase over current solar production, but would require massive changes in U.S. policy and billions of dollars in federal funds from new The federal report shows that the investment is aimed at modernizing the national energy grid.

A report from the Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy shows that the United States will need to quadruple its annual solar capacity – and continue to increase it year over year – as it transitions to a renewable-dominant grid to solve existential problems the threat posed by climate change.

Officials say the report released Wednesday is not intended to serve as a political statement or administrative purpose. Instead, it “is designed to guide and inspire the next decade of solar innovation by helping us answer questions such as: How quickly and to what level do solar power need to increase efficiency?” said Becca Jones-Albertus, director of solar energy in the Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Technologies.

Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said in a statement that the study “demonstrates the fact that solar energy, our cheapest and fastest-growing source of clean energy, could produce enough electricity to power all U.S. homes by 2035 and employ as many as 1.5 million people in this process.”

The report comes after President Joe Biden declared that climate change has become “everyone’s crisis” during his visit to neighborhoods flooded by the remnants of Hurricane Ida. Biden warned Tuesday that it’s time for America to take seriously the “code red” threat posed by climate change or face mounting losses of life and property.

“We can’t reverse this much, but we can prevent it from getting worse,” Biden said before embarking on a tour of a New Jersey district devastated by severe flooding caused by Ida. “We don’t have time anymore.”

The natural disaster gave Biden an opportunity to urge Congress to approve his plan to spend $1 trillion to strengthen infrastructure across the country, including electrical grids and water and sewer systems, to better protect against extreme weather. The bill has been approved by the Senate and is awaiting a vote in the House of Representatives.

The Department of Energy reported that a record 15 gigawatts of solar generation capacity was installed in the United States in 2020, and solar energy now accounts for just over 3% of the current electricity supply.

The Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory’s “Future of Solar Energy Study” shows that by 2035, the country would need to quadruple annual solar PV capacity growth and add 1,000 gigawatts of power to a grid dominated by renewables. The report shows that by 2050, solar energy could provide 1,600 gigawatts of power on a zero-carbon grid, generating more electricity than is currently used in all residential and commercial buildings in the country. The report shows that decarbonizing the entire energy system could result in the production of as much as 3,000 gigawatts of solar energy by 2050 due to increased electrification in the transport, buildings and industrial sectors.

The report assumes that clean energy policies currently under debate in Congress will lead to a 95% reduction in grid carbon emissions from 2005 levels by 2035 and 100% by 2050.

But even without aggressive action by Congress — which is unlikely to happen in an evenly divided House and Senate — installed solar capacity could still grow sevenfold by 2050 compared to 2005, according to the report.

“Even without concerted policy efforts, market forces and technological advances will drive significant adoption of solar and other clean energy technologies, as well as significant decarbonization,” the report said, citing falling costs of solar panels and other factors.

To achieve 40% solar by 2035, the United States must install an average of 30 gigawatts of solar power per year between now and 2025 — twice the current rate — and 60 gigawatts per year from 2025 to 2030, the report says.

These goals go well beyond what even the solar industry was pursuing as the Biden administration and Congress debated climate and clean energy regulations. The Solar Energy Industries Association has pushed for a solar energy framework to reach 20% of U.S. electricity generation by 2030.

Abigail Ross Hopper, the group’s president and CEO, said the DOE study “makes clear that we will not achieve the level of decarbonization we need without significant policy progress.”

On Wednesday, the solar group sent a letter to Congress from nearly 750 companies outlining recommended policy changes. “We believe that with these policies and the determination of the private sector, the goals of the Biden administration are clearly achievable,” Hopper said.