According to a new report made by Bloomberg New Energy Finance, solar energy can provide 4.2% of U.S. power needs by 2020. This will become reality only if the U.S continues to make investments in the energy sector and decrease solar costs.
Today, the United States has a solar capacity of 1,400 megawatts but as the report claims, this could increase to 44,000 megawatts by 2020 because of the huge amount of investment, about $100 billion over the next decade.
“There is a very positive growth story for solar in the U.S.. A few more years of support, and then the engine of unsubsidized competitiveness will take over,” said Michael Liebreich, chief executive officer of New Energy Finance for Bloomberg.
During the last few years, many investments in the solar energy field have been made due to the drop in costs for both solar photovoltaic panels and solar thermal technology to less than $200 a megawatt-hour. Commercial rooftop solar systems are now able to produce more than 14 percent of electricity in states like New Jersey, Massachusetts, Texas and Hawaii.
The Solar Energy Industry Association predicts significant and continuous growth in solar powered penetration in the next few years, which I feel is great for the environment as well.