The solar industry in the US expects to make history.
The Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) recently announced it is expecting the US solar industry to add half of its capacity from 2022 this year, making a new record for the first time in history.
The achievement allegedly places the US as a "dominant player" in the global clean energy economy, per SEIA president and CEO Abigail Ross Hopper.
One Small Step For The Environment
The SEIA mentioned in its announcement that it is expecting solar installations in the US to add a record 32 gigawatts (GW) of new capacity in 2023, a 52% increase from what it provided in 2022, per the latest US Solar Market Insight Q3 2023 report as of press time.
The report from global research and consultancy group Wood Mackenzie also showed the same conclusions. It noted that Florida, the Sunshine State, continues to dominate the 2023 state solar rankings, with it installing 2.5GW of new capacity in the first half of 2023.
This amount is 52% more than California's; it already marks more solar capacity than the state ever installed in a single year.
Additionally, Wood Mackenzie found that the increase is due to the lessening effect of the supply chain challenges brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic and worsened by restrictive trade policy.
Relevant policies in the Inflation Reduction Act also contributed to the increase. They allowed people to easily switch to solar energy compared to when inflation wasn't being managed by government policy.
Meanwhile, those waiting on new equipment to switch to solar energy would soon be pleased. Hopper expects a surge of new domestic manufacturing investments will improve supply conditions over the next few years.
As a result, those waiting on equipment can get them soon over the same period. Should everything go as planned, the US' solar module manufacturing output will be ten times greater than it is today.
With these factors in mind, Wood Mackenzie expects the total operating solar capacity of US installations to grow from 153GW to 275 GW by 2028 - a fact Hopper welcomes.
"The United States is now a dominant player in the global clean energy economy," Hopper said in a statement. "The solar and storage industry is delivering abundant clean energy that is generating tens of billions of dollars of private investment, and this is just the tip of the iceberg."
Is Switching to Solar Worth It?
Solar energy is a renewable source of energy. As such, it helps save the remaining non-renewable energy sources we have and helps Mother Nature heal and sustain us longer. Additionally, using solar energy will help people reduce their electric bills and improve their home value if they choose to sell it in the future.
However, while maintaining a solar panel array doesn't cost much, installing them does. As such, getting your investment back depends on how big your electricity consumption is.
Additionally, solar energy relies on the Sun for sunlight to extract energy from. Even if there are solar panels that can squeeze energy from what sunlight there is during cloudy or even rainy days, one cannot enjoy using solar energy when the weather is poor.
If you're wondering if switching to solar energy for your home is worth it, you may read our articles covering just that.
