The United States could produce 40 percent of electricity through solar power by 2035

Solar power has the potential to supply up to 40% of the nation’s electricity in 15 years, a tenfold increase over current solar production, but which would require massive changes in US policy. of millions of dollars in federal investment to modernize the nation’s solar power. power grid, says a new federal report.

The report from the Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energies says the United States would need to quadruple its annual solar capacity, and continue to increase it year after year, as it shifts to a renewable dominance grid to address the existential problem. threat posed by climate change.

the report released Wednesday is not intended to be a policy statement or an administration goal, authorities said. Instead, it is “designed to guide and inspire the next decade of solar innovation by helping us answer questions like: How quickly do you need solar power to increase capacity and at what level?” Said Becca Jones-Albertus, director of solar energy. of the Department of Energy. energy technologies office.

Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said in a statement that the study “illuminates the fact that solar energy, our cheapest and fastest growing source of clean energy, could produce enough electricity to power every home in the US. By 2035 and employing up to 1.5 million people in the process. “

The report comes after President Joe Biden declared that climate change has become “everyone’s crisis” during a visit to neighborhoods flooded by the remnants of Hurricane Ida. Biden warned Tuesday that it is time for the United States to take seriously the danger of the “code red” posed by climate change or it will face increasing loss of life and property.

“We can’t reverse it much, but we can prevent it from getting worse,” Biden said before touring a New Jersey neighborhood devastated by severe flooding caused by Ida. “We do not have more time”.

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The natural disaster has given Biden an opportunity to pressure Congress to pass his plan to spend $ 1 trillion to strengthen infrastructure across the country, including electrical networks, water and sewer systems, for better defense against extreme weather. The legislation has been approved by the Senate and awaits a vote in the House.

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

The “Solar Futures Study,” prepared by DOE’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory, shows that, by 2035, the country would need to quadruple its annual solar capacity additions and provide 1,000 gigawatts of power to a predominantly renewable grid. By 2050, solar power could provide 1,600 gigawatts on a carbon-free grid, producing more electricity than is consumed by all residential and commercial buildings in the country today, according to the report. The decarbonization of the entire energy system could result in up to 3,000 gigawatts of solar power by 2050 due to increased electrification in the transportation, buildings and industrial sectors, according to the report.

The report assumes that the clean energy policies currently being debated in Congress will drive a 95% reduction from 2005 levels in grid carbon dioxide emissions by 2035, and a 100% reduction by 2050.

But even without aggressive action by Congress, a result that is far from certain in an evenly divided House and Senate, installed solar capacity could still see a seven-fold increase by 2050, relative to 2005, according to the report.

“Even without a concerted political effort, market forces and technological advancements will drive significant deployment of solar and other clean energy technologies, as well as substantial decarbonization,” the report said, citing falling panel costs. solar and other factors.

To achieve 40% solar power by 2035, the US must install an average of 30 gigawatts of solar capacity per year between now and 2025, double its current rate, and 60 gigawatts per year from 2025 to 2030, according to The report.

Those goals far exceed what even the solar industry has been pushing as the Biden administration and Congress debate climate and clean energy legislation. The Solar Energy Industries Association has called for a framework for solar power to reach 20% of US electricity generation by 2030.

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

The solar group sent a letter to Congress Wednesday from nearly 750 companies detailing the recommended policy changes. “We believe that with those policies and a determined private sector, the Biden administration’s goals are definitely achievable,” Hopper said.