The United States Department of Energy has released a memorandum titled "Investing in the Future of Clean Energy: Research, Deployment, and Priorities in Solar Energy."
The document emphasizes the importance of solar generation for the future of the USA. Maintaining and developing renewable energy, including solar, is as crucial for the government as constructing new wind farms and nuclear power plants.
"Solar energy is the fastest-growing source of new electricity in the country. It has grown by 4000% in the last decade and will continue to play a significant role in achieving the administration's goals. Scaling up the decarbonization of the electricity sector could lead solar energy from its current 3% production to 40% by 2035," noted representatives from the Department of Energy.
However, experts are skeptical about the ambitious plans of the agency's head, Jennifer Granholm, citing their improbability. One of the reasons is that the Department of Energy's memorandum relies on an analysis from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). While the research has not been fully published yet, its main theses have been made public. The most crucial among them is that to achieve a carbon-free energy sector by 2035, the deployment of solar generation must be accelerated three to four times compared to current rates by 2030. Nevertheless, the Department of Energy will be able to achieve the 40% target by 2035, but as experts from CleanTechnica believe, it won't be an easy task.
Among the primary directions for the development of solar generation are the continuation of providing tax incentives for investments, financial support to clean energy producers, and the construction of new infrastructure for the swift and reliable transmission of generated energy.
The transition to clean energy is inevitable. Not only do statements from government officials attest to this fact, but a series of problems faced by local residents also highlight the dependence on traditional electricity production technologies such as water, coal, and gas. For this reason, the U.S. energy system requires both decarbonization and diversification. Solar generation is one of the convenient alternatives for the future energy sector.
It is easy to install and operate. Unlike previous analogs that required regular cleaning from dust and debris, the new technologies almost entirely eliminate the need for water usage, which is particularly crucial during periods of drought.
"The extensive deployment of solar energy combined with energy storage can make America's energy supply more sustainable, especially during disruptions in electricity delivery caused by anthropogenic and natural threats.
Smaller solar panels, as part of microgrids or hybrid power stations, can contribute to greater local self-sufficiency and community-level resilience. Solar batteries with storage solutions can already provide hours of backup power for individual buildings. This storage option can help manage the grid, prevent outages, and even restart the network after power failures," stated the memorandum.