Solar energy—power derived from the sun—is a vast and inexhaustible resource that can supply a significant portion of domestic and global electricity needs. In addition to being a vital source of clean energy, utility-scale solar power creates American jobs, drives innovation, and strengthens ou Contact online >>
Solar energy—power derived from the sun—is a vast and inexhaustible resource that can supply a significant portion of domestic and global electricity needs. In addition to being a vital source of clean energy, utility-scale solar power creates American jobs, drives innovation, and strengthens our economy.
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In the United States, utilities and companies across the country are investing in utility-scale solar farms to capture the sun''s energy at a larger scale.
Utility-scale solar is a major economic contributor. The industry has invested nearly $195 billion in projects nationwide.
Solar projects also contributed $739 million in state and local taxes and land-lease payments last year alone.
The solar industry employs 261,000 hard-working Americans across all 50 states.
Utility-scale solar helps avoid 125 million metric tons of CO2 emissions annually—equivalent to taking 28 million cars off the road.
The U.S. solar industry employs America''s veterans at a rate higher than the national average.
There are two primary types of solar energy technologies in use today: solar photovoltaic (PV) and concentrating solar thermal power (CSP). Each has its own distinct use and application.
Solar PV is the primary type of solar energy being deployed in the U.S. and around the world. PV cells, typically made of silicon, are sandwiched between a combination of glass or plastics and connected together to form larger solar panels or modules.
Solar PV modules are further interconnected to form arrays of varying sizes—from a dozen or more modules on a typical rooftop residential system to upwards of hundreds of thousands at larger, commercial and industrial utility-scale solar projects.
Most solar PV projects use single-axis tracking systems that let panels track the sun along a single line as it moves across the sky, improving production. More sophisticated, dual-axis systems rotate panels in two directions, capturing even more sunlight throughout the day.
Solar PV systems also include inverters, electrical hardware that converts the PV panels'' direct current (DC) power output to the alternating current (AC) power needed on the grid, allowing the electricity generated by solar power to feed back into the electric grid safely and efficiently.
Some solar power plants employ a very different system of capturing and converting the sun''s energy: concentrating solar thermal power (CSP). Whereas solar PV plants convert the sun''s rays into electrical energy, CSP systems convert the sun''s heat into usable thermal energy.
CSP systems use vast fields of mirrors to reflect and concentrate sunlight onto receivers filled with liquid. These receivers collect solar energy and convert it to heat. This heat is then used to produce electricity through steam-powered turbines or stored for later use.
Solar energy is inevitably variable by nature since it depends on the availability of sunlight. For example, solar power systems cannot produce electricity at night, and their output can vary during the day depending on local weather conditions.
Since supply and demand needs to be closely matched on the electricity grid, other sources of electricity generation are used when solar energy is not available. This is a natural part of balancing multiple generation sources on the grid. For example, at times of peak sun and solar generation, solar plants can produce at their maximum while other generation sources—such as natural gas and coal—are ramped down.
As energy storage options become more prevalent and cost-effective, variable generation solar plants can couple energy storage (such as batteries) to smooth out their variable nature or prolong generation into the evening after the sun goes down.
Various provisions in the Internal Revenue Code support investment in utility-scale solar energy equipment. These provisions reduce the after-tax cost of investing in solar property, thereby encouraging taxpayers, businesses, investors, independent power producers, utilities, and other entities to invest in solar.
The impacts of tariffs have not been felt evenly across the solar industry’s manufacturing segments (e.g., polysilicon production, ingot and wafer production, solar cell production, and module assembly). To date, the tariffs have not encouraged expansion of U.S. manufacturing in the more technologically advanced segment of the PV manufacturing supply chain, namely the production of crystalline-silicon solar cells.
However, U.S. production of solar modules, into which cells are assembled, rose in 2018, and a few companies, including one Chinese manufacturer, have opened solar module assembly plants in the United States. Module prices globally have declined steeply over the past decade. While prices in the U.S. market have fallen as well, despite the tariffs on imported cells and modules, they remained 61% higher on average than the global average selling price in 2018, according to the National Renewable Energy Laboratory.
Tariffs have also negatively impacted project development, as higher costs resulting from the tariffs forced projects to either be delayed or cancelled altogether.
Solar power is essentially carbon-free. A small amount of pollution is created during the manufacturing and construction processes; however, the fuel used (the sun) is free, plentiful, and pollution-free.
As the solar industry matures and the first projects reach their end of useful life, the solar industry is working closely with recyclers across the United States to establish comprehensive recycling programs that ensure re-use of as much material and equipment as feasible.
ACP tracks the residential solar PV market; however the organization''s main focus is on the commercial, industrial, and utility-scale solar PV market. Residential PV systems are often around 5 kW in size while utility-scale systems are typically defined as upwards of 1 MW. Increasingly, utility-scale systems provide hundreds of megawatts and cover thousands of acres, allowing them to generate clean, renewable power for entire communities rather than individual homes.
Get up-to-the-minute news, policy updates, and data on the evolving clean energy landscape.
In 2023, the United States set a record for the most clean energy installed in a single year, with 33.8 gigawatts (GW) installed – over three-fourths of all new electricity capacity added.
Explore the 2023 Annual Market Report interactive summary
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The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Solar Energy Technologies Office (SETO) works to help decarbonize the electricity sector and the economy by funding innovations that reduce solar power costs and rapidly increase solar deployment across the country.
Cost reduction is essential to increasing solar deployment. To address the climate emergency, the rate of solar deployment must increase two to five times. As a result, DOE announced on March 25, 2021 that it is accelerating its timeline for achieving its utility-scale photovoltaic (PV) cost reductions.
In 2016, as the industry approached the SunShot 2020 utility-scale PV cost goal of $0.06 per kilowatt-hour (kWh), DOE set a new cost target of $0.03 per kWh by 2030. Now the new target for unsubsidized levelized cost of energy (LCOE) for utility-scale PV at the point of grid connection is $0.03/kWh for 2025 and $0.02/kWh for 2030. These targets are for areas of the country with average solar resource and could make solar the lowest-cost source of new electricity generation across most of the country.
These targets are aggressive, but there are multiple realistic paths to achieve them. All pathways require significant improvements across SETO''s research areas, but greater progress in one area can allow for more moderate change in others. These interdependencies and trade-offs create many opportunities for technology development. This figure demonstrates one pathway to the new 2030 cost target:
SETO is targeting concurrent reductions for commercial and residential rooftop PV costs to $0.04/kWh and $0.05/kWh by 2030, respectively.
About Utility-scale solar fonafote
As the photovoltaic (PV) industry continues to evolve, advancements in Utility-scale solar fonafote have become critical to optimizing the utilization of renewable energy sources. From innovative battery technologies to intelligent energy management systems, these solutions are transforming the way we store and distribute solar-generated electricity.
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