#Solar power code#

Recall United Nations Secretary-General AntР“С–nio GuterresРІР‚в„ў powerful statement this summer on the latest IPCC report - РІР‚СљTodayРІР‚в„ўs report is a code red for humanity.РІР‚Сњ If we donРІР‚в„ўt deploy lots of solar and wind quickly, weРІР‚в„ўll have ever more fires and droughts and tornados and hurricanes.

ItРІР‚в„ўs not going to happen on its own, but we can guide those changes to be sure this development is done right.Р”Р„nd the fact is that change is coming one way or another. In other words, we have enough land that is technically suitable for solar that, if weРІР‚в„ўre smart, we should be able to integrate solar while minimizing the impacts on wildlife and our communities. But even with high renewables deployment and conservative assumptions about site suitability, only 6% of sites suitable for solar are used. In the study, solar farms in 2050 need an area of land somewhere between the size of Connecticut and Virginia. Princeton University also did an important studyР’В and found similar results. In other words, we can build the solar power we need without endangering pristine lands or putting wildlife or fauna at risk. developed land good for rooftop solar, invasive species-impacted lands, and land denuded or contaminated by prior use) that are suitable for solar are still about eight times what is needed even for decarbonizing the whole economy. When DOE looked at decarbonizing the whole economy, it saw the need for almost twice as much solar, reaching 3,000 GW cumulative by 2050.Р”В«ut the good news is that the study found that the disturbed lands (e.g. next year, to 72 GW per year.Р”Р„nd thatРІР‚в„ўs only looking at decarbonizing the electric sector. The Department of EnergyРІР‚в„ўs Solar Futures StudyР’В looked at scenarios to decarbonize the electric grid and found that in just the next 10 years, solar would have to go from deploying about 15GW per year, which is about what weРІР‚в„ўll see here in the U.S. to power nearly 22 million homes, according to the Solar Energy Industries Association. We now have enough solar energy in the U.S. ThatРІР‚в„ўs about five times the size of Central Park. Depending on the type of solar technology, a 420MW solar farm could require as much as 4,200 acres of land, according to the Solar Energy Industry Association. And as projects grow in number and size as they are with solar, it makes sense for more questions to arise. So, itРІР‚в„ўs understandable that people have questions about wind and solar projects when theyРІР‚в„ўre proposed in their backyards (or in the case of offshore wind, favorite ocean). Based on data through September, it looks like more than 10,500MW will come online in 2021 and thereРІР‚в„ўs already a new 420MW solar plant operating.Р”Р„s humans weРІР‚в„ўre wired to be nervous about change. In 2020, 10,436MW of utility scale solar projects came online and the largest project was 300MW.

The same EIA data shows that in 2015, 3,462MW of utility scale solar projects came online, and largest project was 108MW. There are more utility scale solar projects and theyРІР‚в„ўre getting bigger.

These are incredible achievements, but the big story of 2021 is around solar. And the Bureau of Offshore Energy Management approvedР’В the first utility scale offshore wind project, the Vineyard Wind 1 project, which will be 800 MW. ItРІР‚в„ўs only 12 megawatts now, but the project, off the coast of Virginia, is on track to eventually be the worldРІР‚в„ўs largest offshore wind farm. The second offshore wind farm started operations in 2021. And costs for wind, solar and battery technologies continue to fall. The reason is crystal clear: Across most of the country, wind and solar are simply less expensive than dirty fossil fuels.