China’s Remote Deserts Are Hiding an Energy Revolution
By Bloomberg News 11/27/23
Out of the rolling yellow dunes of the Kubuqi desert arises what appears to be an oasis, shimmering blue beneath the northern China sky.
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SOLAR
According to the US Energy Information Administration (EIA), in 2018, about 17% of the electricity generated was from renewable sources (primarily wind, solar & hydropower), with 1.6% coming from solar.
In early 2019, the Solar Foundation released its National Solar Census, which shows that, since 2017, the total number of jobs in the industry has now fallen for the second year in a row. 242,343 people were employed in solar jobs in 2018, a 3.2% decline on the previous year. That comes after the industry contracted by 3.8% in 2017, primarily as a result of tariffs.
The outlook for jobs in the industry is expected to improve in 2019 due to a backlog of utility-scale projects and new policy incentives in key U.S. states. The Solar Foundation has forecast a 7% increase in jobs for this year, bringing the total to 259,400.
Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Preliminary Monthly Electric Generator Inventory, October 2021
CURRENT NEWS
KEY RESOURCES
U.S. Department of Energy and U.S. Geological Survey Release Online Public Database of Large-Scale Solar Facilities
11/08/23
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) released the largest and most comprehensive database to date on large-scale solar energy projects in the United States.…
5 Ways Community Solar Empowers Solar for All
07/06/23
Solar power is a long-lasting and cost-cutting renewable energy solution, but installing a home solar panel system isn’t feasible for everyone. Luckily, the benefits of solar aren’t limited to those who have panels on their…
Solar Market Insight Report 2022 Q2
06/08/22
In Q1 2022, the US solar market installed 3.9 GWdc of solar capacity, a 24% decrease from Q1 2021 and a 52% decrease from Q4 2021. This represents the weakest quarter for US solar installations…
Federal Solar Tax Credit Guide (2022)
05/03/22
Since 2005, the federal government has incentivized homeowners to switch to solar through the solar investment tax credit (ITC), also known as the federal solar tax credit. Currently, this tax credit lets you claim 26%…
How solar power works
02/11/22
Solar energy is quickly becoming a more popular and affordable power source for homeowners and businesses. With residential solar energy, you can lower your carbon footprint and see substantial cost savings.
Investing in a Clean Energy Future: Solar Energy Research, Deployment, and Workforce Priorities
09/13/21
The immediate need for action on climate change has been made clear in the recent report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). Limiting the rise in global temperatures would help avoid future catastrophic…
Solar Power Solutions Brief
03/10/21
Solar power has expanded dramatically in recent years, becoming the leading technology installed for new power generation around the world. In 2019, it accounted for 45% of global capacity added. Last year, solar power became…
2035 Report
10/01/20
Scientists say we must cut global carbon emissions in half by 2030 to avoid catastrophic climate impacts.
Solar carports: how do they work and how much do they cost?
04/25/20
While a typical carport or patio cover provides shading and is undoubtedly a value-add for a home or automobile owner, its one-dimensional simplicity is a missed opportunity. If you’re a PV fanatic following emerging technologies in the solar industry,…
Depreciation of Solar Energy Property in MACRS
04/20/20
Businesses rely on policy certainty to make long-term investment decisions. SEIA supports smart tax policy that drives continued innovation in the solar industry. Depreciation is one aspect of the tax code that facilitates greater investment…
California Solar Data Current Through: Q4 2019
03/28/20
California has the largest solar market in the U.S. and has been a longtime champion of solar because of the many economic and environmental benefits it provides, including $57 billion in investment in the state.
Calculate your solar panel savings
02/22/20
Use this solar panel calculator to quickly estimate your solar potential and savings by address. Estimates are based on your roof, electricity bill, and actual offers in your area.
Top Solar Energy Facts e-book
01/15/20
Scientists estimate that more than enough solar energy strikes the planet every hour to power the entire globe for a full year.
Solar Power Events
01/06/20
Solar Power Events, the premier events series for the North American solar & storage markets, is presented by Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) & Smart Electric Power Alliance (SEPA). Alongside North America Smart Energy Week,…
Go solar: top 10 benefits of solar energy
12/06/19
There are many reasons why homeowners go solar, but improving the environment and cutting energy costs are the most common. Many people are aware that solar is a great home efficiency upgrade and are eager…
Coalition for Community Solar Access
07/08/19
The Coalition for Community Solar Access (CCSA) is a national Coalition of businesses and non-profits working to expand customer choice and access to solar to all American households and businesses through community solar. Community solar…
Vote Solar
07/04/19
Since 2002, Vote Solar has been working to lower solar costs and expand solar access. A 501(c)3 non-profit organization, Vote Solar advocates for state policies and programs needed to repower our electric grid with clean…
Solar Energy Industry Association
12/15/18
The Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA®) is the driving force behind solar energy and is building a strong solar industry to power America through advocacy and education. As the national trade association in the U.S.,…
Ten Ways Your Community Can Go Solar
03/01/19
The United States has enough solar energy installed to power over 11 million American homes. America’s cities and towns play a key role in driving the adoption of clean, renewable energy. Yet, most have only…
MORE NEWS
A Reality Check About Solar Panel Waste and the Effects on Human Health
By Dan Gearino 10/12/23
Having sat in many community hearings about solar power development, I am used to vivid descriptions of how photovoltaic panels might as well be dripping with harmful substances that will sicken people and livestock.
Read more Energy Firms, Green Groups and Others Reach Deal on Solar Farms
By Ivan Penn 10/12/23
Solar developers, environmentalists, farming groups and tribal organizations said on Thursday that they had reached an agreement that could make it easier in the United States to build large solar farms, which have attracted stiff…
Read more Column: Solar companies and environmentalists say they’re ready to stop fighting. They’d better be
By Sammy Roth 10/11/23
The United States has more than enough sunlight and wind to keep electricity flowing to our homes and businesses and factories most hours of most days — if only we could stop fighting over where…
Read more Half of Americans can’t install solar panels. Here’s how they can plug into the sun.
By Michael J. Coren 10/10/23
No roof, no solar power. That has been the dispiriting equation shutting out roughly half of all Americans from plugging into the sun. But signing up for solar soon might be as easy as subscribing…
Read more Making Solar Energy as Clean as Can Be Means Fitting Square Panels Into the Circular Economy
By Emma Peterson and Wyatt Myskow 10/09/23
Even for the most enthusiastic boosters of renewable energy, it’s hard to argue that solar panels provide truly clean electricity if, at the end of their lives, many of them end up in landfills.
Read more Florida is now adding more solar power than any other state
By Eric Wesoff 09/15/23
Florida has long ranked a distant third place behind California and Texas in installed solar, but it’s now installing more solar panels than any other state — despite a policy landscape that’s considerably more challenging…
Read more Chart: Solar installations set to break global, US records in 2023
By Eric Wesoff and Maria Virginia Olano 09/15/23
The solar industry is having yet another record-setting growth year, globally and in the U.S. A perfect storm of policy, incentives and still-plummeting costs has made solar the clear choice for new generation capacity worldwide.
Read more Bechtel to build 190MWac solar project in Posey County, Indiana
By GlobalData 09/13/23
US-based engineering corporation Bechtel has secured a contract from Arevon Energy to design and build a 190MWac solar project in Posey County, Indiana.
Read more Solar Is Keeping the Texas Grid Running. Next Month’s Eclipse Will Be a New Test
By Naureen S Malik 09/08/23
Texas quickly spiraled into a power emergency on Wednesday night when record September demand and a drop in supply prompted appeals to consumers to conserve electricity to avoid blackouts. Hot, humid weather put the squeeze…
Read more Democrats’ climate law projected to drive record increase in U.S. solar installations, report finds
By Kelsey Tamborrino 09/07/23
The U.S. solar industry is expected to grow by more than 50 percent this year amid new investments stemming from Democrats' climate law, according to a market report from the Solar Energy Industries Association and…
Read more With a Crippled Energy Grid, Puerto Rico Turned to Solar Power. (Spoiler: It’s Working)
By Dan Avery 09/02/23
On Sept. 20, 2017, Hurricane Maria slammed into Puerto Rico and devastated the island's aging and inefficient power grid.
Read more Opinion Electric cars and solar cells rely on Chinese minerals. Here’s how to curb the risks.
By The Editorial Board 08/25/23
The U.S. transition to cleaner energy technology is underway, supported by new incentives in the Inflation Reduction Act. Benefits to the planet could be significant. Yet so could the geopolitical risks to the United States.…
Read more At 30%, Solar Panel Tax Credits Are at a High Point for Now
By Ann Carrns 08/25/23
Americans are increasingly turning to rooftop solar panels to save money on their energy bills, and over the next decade, federal tax credits can help reduce the cost of installing them. Tax breaks for solar…
Read more Pennsylvania Solar for Schools Program Is a Win-Win-Win-Win
By Matthew Bourne 08/22/23
The Steelton-Highspire School District is located just outside Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. In a move to overcome years of budget challenges, the districted recently installed 3500 solar panels on an old landfill.
Read more The new climate law is upending the solar landscape
By Ben Geman 08/14/23
The year since passage of the big climate law has brought over $100 billion in U.S. solar and storage company investments. Why it matters: New data from the Solar Energy Industries Association — a major…
Read more How solar has exploded in the US in just a year – in numbers
By Michelle Lewis 08/13/23
Solar and storage companies have announced over $100 billion in private sector investments in the US since the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) a year ago, according to a new analysis released today…
Read more The RVs of the future are here — and they use free, off-the-grid energy powered by a surprising piece of technology
By Mila Dyson 08/09/23
You’ve been dreaming of hitting the open road in your RV, but you’re worried about the cost of fuel to power the RV’s functions on arrival. You also might’ve heard that you could run your…
Read more Solar Farms Out at Sea Are Clean Energy’s Next Breakthrough
By Bloomberg News 07/14/23
Buffeted by waves as high as 10 meters (32 feet) in China’s Yellow Sea about 30 kilometers off the coast of Shandong province, two circular rafts carrying neat rows of solar panels began generating electricity…
Read more Strengthening a Minnesota Community with Solar and Resilience
By Gabe Epstein 07/06/23
Duluth’s Lincoln Park neighborhood is a community of approximately 6,000 residents, most of whom have a household income of less than $35,000 annually. To support economic stability and energy resilience in this neighborhood, Duluth-based nonprofit…
Read more China to restrict exports of chipmaking materials as US mulls new curbs
07/04/23
China will control exports of some metals widely used in the semiconductor industry, its commerce ministry announced on Monday, the latest salvo in an escalating war over access to high-tech microchips between Beijing and the…
Read more U.S. EPA Launches $7 Billion Program To Bring Solar Energy to Low-Income Households
By ESG News 06/29/23
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) launched a $7 billion grant competition through President Biden’s Investing in America agenda to increase access to affordable, resilient, and clean solar energy for millions of low-income households. Residential…
Read more Biden administration announces $7 billion residential solar grant program
By Zack Budryk 06/28/23
The Biden administration on Wednesday announced a $7 billion grant competition to expand access to residential solar energy in low-income communities. The funding, paid for by the Inflation Reduction Act’s (IRA) $27 billion Greenhouse Gas…
Read more Solar sprawl is tearing up the Mojave Desert. Is there a better way?
By Sammy Roth 06/27/23
High above the Las Vegas Strip, solar panels blanketed the roof of Mandalay Bay Convention Center — 26,000 of them, rippling across an area larger than 20 football fields.
Read more Solar Is Booming in the California Desert, if Water Issues Don’t Get in the Way
By Wyatt Myskow 06/26/23
Solar farms stretch out mile after mile along Interstate 10 around Palm Springs, creating one of the densest areas of solar development in North America in the heart of California’s Colorado Desert. But the area’s…
Read more Near-Term Solar Installations Are Set To Explode In The US
By Wood Mackenzie 06/13/23
The US solar industry’s growth trajectory is incredibly strong. Within just a few short years, the industry will be regularly installing 40-50 gigawatts (GW) of capacity according to our latest outlooks. This is quite the…
Read more California’s $100 Billion Electric Bullet Train Will Be Fully Solar Powered
By Alan Ohnsman 06/12/23
Elon Musk unveiled his futuristic hyperloop concept in 2013 by taking swipes at California’s high-speed rail project, deriding it as “a bullet train that is both one of the most expensive per mile and one…
Read more Solar Power in US to More Than Double by 2028 as IRA Spurs Usage
By Will Wade 06/08/23
The US solar market is on track to more than double over the next five years as the landmark Inflation Reduction Act boosts domestic manufacturing.
Read more Scientists develop mega-thin solar cells that could be shockingly easy to produce: ‘As rapid as printing a newspaper’
By Lajja Mistry 06/03/23
Scientists from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have developed paper-thin solar cells that can be attached to any kind of surface to convert it into a power source. Thinner than human hair, these cells…
Read more Solar investment set to overtake oil production and attract over $1 billion a day in 2023, IEA says
By Anmar Frangoul 05/25/23
Global investment in energy is slated to hit roughly $2.8 trillion in 2023, according to a new report from the International Energy Agency, with over $1.7 trillion of that set to go on clean energy…
Read more House fails to override Biden veto maintaining solar tariffs
By Zack Budryk 05/24/23
The House of Representatives fell short of the required two-thirds majority to override President Biden’s veto of a Congressional Review Act (CRA) resolution resuming solar power tariffs.
Read more Biden Vetoes Legislation That Would Reinstate Tariffs on Some Solar Panels
By Zolan Kanno-Youngs 05/16/23
President Biden vetoed legislation on Tuesday that would have reinstated tariffs on solar panels from Chinese companies in Southeast Asia that had been found to be imported into the United States in violation of trade…
Read more Portable Solar Energy Systems for Home & on the Go
By Sarah Lozanova 05/03/23
Solar panels aren’t just found on rooftops and solar farms anymore — there are now numerous portable solar modules on the market for camping, RVs, and emergency preparedness. You can buy solar chargers with a…
Read more U.S. Sen. Manchin joins effort to repeal Biden solar tariff waiver
04/28/23
April 26 (Reuters) - U.S. Senator Joe Manchin on Wednesday threw his support behind a legislative effort to repeal President Joe Biden's suspension of tariffs on solar panel imports from four Southeast Asian nations that…
Read more California Enters ‘Uncharted Territory’ After Cutting Payments to Rooftop Solar Owners by 75 Percent
By Dan Gearino 04/27/23
A new era has begun for rooftop solar in the country’s leading market, California. People in the solar industry are exhausted from a rush of sales to customers who wanted to get ahead of new…
Read more Why resuming tariffs on Chinese solar firms threatens U.S. climate goals
By Maxine Joselow 04/27/23
Good morning and welcome to The Climate 202! Happy almost Friday. We’re starting our morning by watching this adorable video of seals acting like puppies.
Read more What’s best for the climate: Reshoring solar panel production or just buying cheap from China?
By Mark Harris 04/27/23
upIn a world of gloomy climate news, solar panels have been a ray of sunshine. Back in 2010, thousands of experts were asked how quickly the costs of solar photovoltaic (PV) systems would fall. Their…
Read more Oklahoma is about to get one of the largest solar cell factories in the US
By Michelle Lewis 04/27/23
Enel North America has named Oklahoma as its preferred choice for its planned 3-gigawatt (GW) solar panel and cell factory.
Read more US solar boom on hold as industry awaits subsidy rules
By Joe Lo 04/24/23
U.S. President Joe Biden’s plan to challenge China’s dominance in solar panel manufacturing hinges in large part on rules his administration will soon release defining what it means for a product to be American-made, according…
Read more Scientists Develop Semi-Transparent Solar-Powered Roof for Greenhouses
By Paige Bennett 04/06/23
Scientists have created solar roofs for greenhouses, but these aren’t just any solar panels. A team from UCLA developed semi-transparent organic photovoltaics with added stability, so plants within the greenhouse can still receive sunlight while…
Read more TV show illuminates forgotten story of female solar energy pioneer
By Erin Blakemore 04/01/23
Mária Telkes isn’t a household name. But after watching “The Sun Queen,” premiering on PBS’s “American Experience” on Tuesday, you may ask yourself why.
Read more Two weeks until California slashes rooftop solar incentives
By Sammy Roth 03/30/23
It’s been nearly a decade since California lawmakers ordered the state’s Public Utilities Commission to revamp a rooftop solar incentive program called net metering. In two weeks, we’ll finally begin to see the consequences of…
Read more The state that generates much more renewable energy than any other
By Dan Gearino 03/09/23
Here’s a state-by-state tally of the leaders and laggards for wind, solar and other renewable energy in 2022.
Read more U.S. solar installations fell 16% in 2022, but market rebounding -report
By Laila Kearney 03/09/23
The quarterly report by the Solar Energy Industries Association and research firm Wood Mackenzie revised up previous estimates for the year and projected a broad market recovery ahead as the country's solar industry was set…
Read more Minnesota regulators approve $256M solar farm for farmland in Dodge County
By Mike Hughlett 03/09/23
County officials had objected because it would be located on more than 1,500 acres of prime farmland.
Read more Scientists make breakthrough with ‘miracle material’ that may revolutionize solar panels: ‘This could be an absolute game changer’
By Ben Stern 03/02/23
Solar power is becoming cheaper and easier to get, but that doesn’t mean that it’s perfect. Solar panels that are usually made from silicon have large up-front costs and generally last between 25 and 30…
Read more The forgotten story of Jimmy Carter’s White House solar panels
02/21/23
The glass, aluminum, and stainless steel panels reclined at low angles and basked in the sun as the men in suits and ties, flanked by reporters, took to the West Wing roof to look at…
Read more Republican Operatives Are Astroturfing Opposition to Solar Power
By Molly Taft 02/20/23
Several grassroots groups opposed to solar projects in local areas may have one thing in common: a Virginia-based group with powerful GOP connections advising them on strategy. National Public Radio and environmental news collective Floodlight…
Read more Biden earmarks billions for rooftop solar under climate law
By Jennifer A Dlouhy 02/14/23
In the government’s initial moves to allocate the $27 billion Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund, it gave home and community solar a boost but dodged a decision on creating a national green bank.
Read more Solar Panels Are the Midwest’s New Cash Crop as Green Energy Booms
By Brian Eckhouse and Naureen S. Malik 02/07/23
The greening of red-state America, well underway in the Sun Belt, is now accelerating in the Midwest. Ohio and Indiana — two Republican-led US states long dependent on coal power — are on the verge…
Read more Solar Energy Technologies Office
02/07/23
Today, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Solar Energy Technologies Office (SETO) announced the American-Made Net Load Forecasting Prize, which is designed to increase adoption of the state-of-the-art in net load forecasting. The net load…
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