The Rise of Solar Power: What it Means for Our Communities
The Rise of Solar Power: What it Means for Our Communities
Viridis EnergyWe’ve been optimistic about the industry for years now, but even the nay-sayers can’t ignore the progress solar has been making. Over the past couple years, development and consumption of renewable energy has absolutely skyrocketed, with solar smashing expectations and quickly pushing to the front of the pack. Though many Americans once thought renewables could never be effective enough to power the nation, they are quickly overtaking fossil fuels in the energy matrix. Renewables now take up about 21% of the national energy mix, with wind only slightly overshadowing solar. The United State Energy Information Association projects that by 2050, renewable energy will comprise 42% of our total energy resources, with solar projected to surpass wind by 2040. From July 2019 to July 2023, total solar development in the United States increased by a whopping 45%! This exponential growth is very exciting for those of us in the industry, so today we want to go into detail on why solar is quickly becoming the most popular renewable resource, and what this means for our communities!
One of the most attractive things about solar is the freedom and autonomy it can grant homeowners. Especially in states like California where rolling brownouts and extended outages are becoming an inconvenient and potentially dangerous part of everyday life, more and more people are seeking a solution that will provide them with power no matter what’s going on with the grid. Adding solar plus battery backup to your home eliminates the need for you to rely on the utility for power 24/7, and puts some of the control back into your hands. It’s not surprising that so many people have been considering adding solar and energy storage to their homes over the past couple of years, especially in the wake of infrastructure failures that we’ve witnessed across the nation. As severe weather events cause neighborhoods to lose power for longer periods of time, having a solar energy storage system on your property can help you keep critical appliances like heaters and refrigerators operational, keeping you and your family safe during natural disasters or other emergencies.
Dramatic drops in pricing have also driven demand for solar way up! At this point, renewable energy is actually cheaper to produce and distribute than coal, natural gas, and nuclear! Utility-scale energy storage has also substantially dropped, decreasing by 70% between 2015-2023. More affordable prices are incentivizing consumers who may have never considered solar in the past to go green, and driving installers and salespeople to offer upgrades and add-ons to keep up with the competition. What’s more, municipalities and states alike are able to set more aggressive renewable energy standards thanks to lower prices across the board. As of autumn 2022, a total of 38 states had set some kind of renewable energy goal to reach by 2050, with targets ranging between 25% and 100% carbon-free power by the middle of the century. These policies give each state a logical pathway towards increasing renewable development, lay out benchmarks to track the policy’s success, and provide funding for incentives and credits for consumers and businesses who add solar to the grid!
Consumer preferences and state incentives are absolutely helping to fuel the push towards solar dominance, but one of the most wide-reaching contributions to the solar energy matrix is the participation of major utility companies making huge moves. Massive energy giants like Duke and NextEra are making substantial investments in renewable energy infrastructure development, with a whopping $55.5 billion invested in 2019! An impressive 62GW of utility-scale solar was added to the grid in 2018, and this is predicted to increase by more than 100% by 2023. In fact, regulatory committees have estimated that utility-scale solar will exceed 300GW by 2030! As much as we sympathize with homeowners when they have to deal with utility rate hikes or unexpected outages from their provider, we have to tip our hats to the utilities who are doing their part to add as much solar to the grid as scalable as possible.
From consumers, to sellers; from states to municipalities; and from manufacturers to utility providers, we’re seeing the rise of solar as a hot commodity at a macroeconomic level. A combination of individual purchasing power, improvements in technology, government regulations, and corporate responsibility are all coming together to put solar at the top of the power pyramid! There’s no time like the present to join the solar community and contribute to the fight against pollution and global warming. Plus, the financial savings afforded by solar can help you accomplish your goals of financial freedom. Call up Viridis Energy today to learn more about why solar has us so excited!
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