Hello everyone, today I’d like to share some vital updates about the solar industry that you’d absolutely love to know. As a solar expert, I find it fascinating how the industry is rapidly expanding and how solar companies are doing exciting things to make solar panels for your home a more efficient and cost-effective option.
The latest report from the Energy Information Administration (EIA) has some truly incredible news that underscores the potential of solar energy. According to the EIA, in the first half of this year alone, solar energy contributed 59% to the 20.2 GW of utility-scale power plants connected to the grid in the United States. That´s an astonishing 12 GW provided by solar power!
Two states really standing out and leading the solar field in this grand total were Florida and Texas. These southern states set the pace in utility-scale solar development and were responsible for an impressive 38% of the new solar capacity. Among the exceptional projects in these leading states were the 690 MW Gemini Solar facility in Nevada and the 653 MW Lumina Solar Project in Texas.
In addition to solar, energy storage also experienced significant jumps in capacity with a robust 4.2 GW deployed. California takes the cake here, contributing 37% of the total energy storage capacity with a little help from Texas, Arizona, and Nevada.
Something even more ground-breaking emerged from this report. It revealed that fossil fuel retirements were more than tenfold compared to new fossil constructions. About 5.1 GW of capacity was retired, with over 50% from methane and nearly 41% from coal. Only a mere 0.4 GW of new gas capacity was deployed in comparison.
So, what does the future hold for the solar array for your home? More growth, believe it or not! The EIA forecasts that for the second half of this year, an additional 42.6 GW will come from new capacity deployments, including a phenomenal 25 GW from solar and an added 10.8 GW of energy storage.
However, these projections are dependent on the political climate. There is an ongoing debate about the imposition of new anti-dumping/counterveiling (AD/CVD) tariffs. If these are implemented, it could lead to the United States paying three times the international price for solar panels. Such tariffs have in the past caused around 20% of utility-scale solar capacity to be delayed or canceled.
That being said, the silver lining has to be the record breaking 37 GW that the EIA predicts we will end up with in 2024. Such a high number reflects a more than doubling of last year’s capacity.
As we closely watch the future developments, one thing is certain; times are exciting for solar companies. The capacity to generate a solar array for home usage is becoming more accessible, raising the bar for the solar industry. I’d urge everyone to stay tuned for more updates and facts about installing solar panels for your home because the future is solar!
Original Articlehttps://pv-magazine-usa.com/2024/08/19/12-gw-of-utility-scale-solar-deployed-in-first-half-of-2024-doubling-2023/
