Plan announced for solar to provide 40 per cent of US electricity by 2035

• 3 years ago (2021-09-09)
• David Flin

North America 1021 Solar 272

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A report from the US Energy Department’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy says the solar energy has the potential to supply up to 40 per cent of the nation’s electricity by 2035. Achieving this would require massive changes in US policy and billions of dollars in investment to upgrade the grid.

Becca Jones Albertus, Director of the Energy Department’s solar energy technologies office, said that the report is not a policy statement or administration goal, but is: “Designed to guide and inspire the next decade of solar innovation by helping us answer questions like: How fast does solar need to increase capacity, and to what level?”

The Energy Department said that the US installed a record 15 GW of solar generating capacity in 2020, and solar now represents just over 3 per cent of current electricity supply.

The report states that the US must install an average of 30 GW of solar capacity a year between now and 2025, and 60 GW per year from 2025 to 2030 to achieve 40 per cent solar power by 2035.