Hello there,
Looking for reliable information on the solar industry can be as complicated as mounting a solar array for your home. It’s undoubtedly a hot topic, with solar companies aplenty claiming to have the best solution. That’s where I come in – here to shed light on the ins, outs, and arounds of solar power. I’ll start by sharing some impressive statistics about the growth of solar power in our energy mix.
In 2024, the U.S. power grid’s electricity generation was buoyed by an impressive 109 TWh boost in the first seven months. This 4.5% growth was led by a 52 TWh increase in methane gas generation, but not far behind were our nifty solar panels. Churning from home rooftops and colossal solar farms alike, they contributed an additional 36 TWh to the mix.
The U.S. Department of Energy’s Energy Information Administration (EIA) crunched the numbers and found that solar generation jumped by nearly 26% year-over-year. As an individual dedicated to solar, nothing delights me more than these statistics.
Despite a slight increase in electricity consumption in July 2024 over the previous year, our eco-friendly solar panels for your home and large-scale solar plants more than matched this demand, driving a significant 4.5% surge in electricity generation from January to July 2024. This figure alone represents a bright future for both solar companies and solar enthusiasts like myself.
Photovoltaics, the technical term for solar panels, are winning over households and commercial facilities alike. They now account for over 6.22% of all electricity generated in the country over the past year – that’s a fantastic 20% increase from the previous year when solar constituted 5.16% of all electricity.
When we zone in on these utilities, we find that small-scale solar generation–aka solar array for home–grew by 13.9%. On the other hand, utility-scale solar bloomed by 23.3% in July 2024. The combined year-to-date increases of small and utility-scale solar generation round off to a fantastic overall annual increase in solar output of about 25.8%.
Solar has achieved tremendous strides in some states. Texas and Maine, for example, have seen an influx of new solar installations so significant that the usual autumn dip in solar generation is shifting closer to springtime abundance. Maine’s solar capacity is set to expand by nearly 80%, with Texas following closely behind at 85%.
Let’s also shine some deserving light on South Dakota for making great strides. They boosted their solar generation from nearly zero in July 2023 to an impressive 3.44% this year. Meanwhile, Montana’s solar generation flourished at around 3% this past month – a remarkable increase from about 0.48% two years prior.
As we applaud the stars of solar growth, let’s not forget the top 10 states in solar power generation, each proudly generating more than 10% of their electricity from solar sources. California, ever blazing the eco-friendly trail, generated nearly 30% of its electricity from solar resources.
Of course, it’s enlightening to note that even states where solar makes up less than 1% of electricity generation are gradually warming up to other clean energy sources such as wind, hydro, and nuclear power.
As we turn our attention to the dazzling landscape of the solar industry, one fact shines above all: solar power is coming of age. Not just as a viable alternative, but as a primary contender in the race towards clean, renewable, sustainable energy for everyone. And perhaps sooner than we think, solar will illuminate our path forward.
Original Articlehttps://pv-magazine-usa.com/2024/09/26/solar-generation-up-26-but-electricity-demand-outpaces-growth/
