President Biden’s Department of Energy, on September 8 , released a report showing the United States can get 40 percent of its electricity from solar energy by 2035, a significant jump. “The study illuminates the fact that solar, our cheapest and fastest-growing source of clean energy, could produce enough electricity to power all of the homes in the U.S. by […]
President Biden’s Department of Energy, on September 8 , released a report showing the United States can get 40 percent of its electricity from solar energy by 2035, a significant jump.
“The study illuminates the fact that solar, our cheapest and fastest-growing source of clean energy, could produce enough electricity to power all of the homes in the U.S. by 2035 and employ as many as 1.5 million people in the process,” said Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm.
The Solar Futures Study outlines how solar energy can help decarbonize the U.S. power grid and help achieve a Biden administration goal of net zero emissions in the electricity sector by 2035.
The report lays out several steps the United States should take to achieve the 40 percent target, including installing 30 gigawatts per year of solar capacity between now and 2025 and 60 GW a year between 2025 and 2030.
It also calls for deploying tools to expand transmission of solar energy such as storage, microgrids and forecasting, which will play a “role in maintaining the reliability and performance of a renewable-dominant grid,” the Department of Energy said.
The administration is ramping up efforts to expand renewable energy. Last month, the Interior Department announced it would begin a process to ensure easier access to vast federal lands for solar and wind energy, addressing the renewable energy industry’s voracious need for acreage. President Biden’s goal to decarbonize the power sector by 2035 would require an area bigger than the Netherlands for the solar industry alone, according to research firm Rystad Energy.
