13 Top Solar Facts for U.S.A
I recently discovered an infographic from the U.S. Solar Energy Industries Association with a wealth of solar power facts. The graphic is included on the bottom of this piece, but I find it much easier to scroll through the solar energy facts in a straightforward bullet list rather than an infographic, so let’s start with the list.
- 50% decline in solar PV prices in the past 10 years
- 231,474 people employed in the U.S. solar industry.
- 10,000+ solar businesses in the U.S.
- 50% of all new U.S. power capacity came from solar in Q1 2022
- 3,472,279 solar systems installed across the U.S.
- A new solar system installed every 60 seconds in U.S. in 2021.
- 22 million homes could be powered by all of the solar power capacity in the country (utility-scale and community-scale solar power as well as rooftop solar).
- $33 billion — value of U.S. solar market in 2021.
- 33% annual growth of U.S. solar market in the past 10 years.
- More than 4% of U.S. electricity now comes from solar, which is 80 times more than a decade ago.
- 30% of U.S. electricity is the solar industry’s goal for 2030 in order to do its part to combat climate change (and make money in the process).
- 141 million carbon emissions avoided annually from U.S. solar power.
- 300 gigawatts of new solar power expected to be installed in next 10 years, 3× more than was installed through 2021.
That’s some stunning U.S. solar power growth, already stunning solar stats, and an exciting series of forecasts for the future. As good as the solar industry looks today, it will look much better by 2030. Don’t believe the forecasts? I was covering the bullish forecasts for 2020 and beyond a decade ago, and the results played out more or less as expected. The next decade looks even more solidly solar, especially given that solar power is already half of new U.S. solar power capacity.
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