Kudos to friends over at Clean Edge and the venerable non-profit organization, Co-op America. They have just released a report called Utility Solar Assessment (USA) that shows that by 2025 10% of US electricity should come from solar technologies.
What is really cool about this study is how it was based on real-world numbers and interviews with existing companies to create a roadmap to get us to such a great result. The jobs and wealth created; aside from the money saved for consumers in such a scenario, are enormous.
8% of that 10% figure is expected to come from photovoltaic rooftop systems - the kind of solar systems Sungevity is set to bring to your home - and small solar farms.
As the authors point out, solar power offers a number of advantages over conventional energy sources. Among them, the ability to deliver energy at or near the point of use, zero fuel costs, minimal maintenance requirements and zero carbon-based source emissions.
According to them, prices will improve greatly too. Remember though, the best time to install solar really was yesterday. Don’t wait until prices come down as the money you’ll spend on increasingly expensive electricity between now and then will outweigh the price drop. We know you’re all long-term planners to this will make plenty of sense.
At Sungevity, we think the growth of solar will be even faster than this, and the point at which solar reaches parity, or is equal in cost with fossil-fuel (or fossil-fool, if you will) grid electricity, will come sooner than this report suggests. It is great to have studies like this that show the viability of the technology.
Hats off to Ron, Clint and Alisa - thanks for your work!
Shine on, DannyK