In 2023, the U.S. solar market installed 32.4 GWdc (gigawatts direct current) of capacity, a remarkable 51% increase from 2022. This was the industry’s biggest year by far, exceeding 30 GWdc of capacity for the first time. Solar accounted for 53% of all new electricity-generating capacity added to the U.S. grid in 2023, slightly ahead of the forecasted 52% of added capacity for 2023. Read more
Researchers at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) have developed a new approach to grid planning that could make it possible to power your home or business with the nation’s best and lowest-cost wind and solar energy, no matter where you live. Read more
This week the Department of Energy (DOE) announced more than $366 million for 17 projects across rural and remote American communities. The funding will accelerate the development of clean, sustainable energy deployment with community driven projects such as building microgrids to ensure energy security with reliable, affordable energy.
Rural and remote communities face a unique set of energy challenges due to their small populations and isolation from larger electrical systems, resulting in higher electric bills, unreliable energy supplies, and/or no access to electricity at all. Read more
In addition to spurring private investment in large-scale clean energy deployment, the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) created home energy programs for consumers, local officials, and advocates. To spread the word, several federal agencies have launched hubs to help organizations and consumers learn about the programs:
This Friday, the Environmental Protection Agency’s ENERGY STAR program is launching a new Incentive Finder to help consumers choose home energy products that qualify for benefits such as tax rebates. Read more
The U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) recently released a draft roadmap — known as the updated Western Solar Plan — that outlines proposed solar energy development across the West. The plan is designed to expand solar energy production overall, and to streamline siting and project permitting on U.S. public lands.
The plan is an update of BLM’s 2012 Western Solar Plan, that identified land having high solar potential and low resource conflicts to guide responsible solar development in the original six states — Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico and Utah. The updated plan adds areas in Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Washington and Wyoming. Read more
A recent study investigated the technical feasibility of using rooftop solar PV to cover the net annual electricity needs of industry across all U.S. states and manufacturing sectors. Modeled electricity supply intensity for solar PV arrays is compared with the electricity demand per unit of floorspace for average manufacturing buildings derived from the U.S. Department of Energy Manufacturing Energy Consumption Survey.
Manufacturing buildings typically have large, flat rooftops that are ideal for solar photovoltaic (PV) arrays, yet less than 1% of industrial electricity demand in the U.S. is currently powered by on-site solar installations.
Hello readers! I’m Steve Wilburn, CEO of VerdeWatts®️. Today, I want to share how fungible federal tax credits are revolutionizing the renewable energy landscape and benefiting both VerdeWatts and our investors.
At VerdeWatts, we are dedicated to developing and operating qualified renewable energy projects and manufacturing operations. These initiatives not only contribute to a sustainable future, but also generate valuable tax credits under the IRA Act of 2022. What makes these tax credits particularly exciting is their fungibility, which allows us to maximize their value in various ways. Read more
The number of jobs in the global energy sector continued to rise in 2023 as growing investment in clean energy technologies drove demand for new workers in every region of the world, according to a new IEA report that offers a benchmark for employment across all energy industries. Read more