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In news that will shock nobody, the US solar industry continues to add more electrons to the nation’s grid faster than any other domestic energy industry, despite facing two enormous obstacles. One is US President Donald Trump’s grudge-fueled energy policy, which kicks both wind and solar power to the curb while uplifting practically every other resource. The other obstacle is a technology conundrum. The solar industry of today continues to rely heavily on silicon, a solar material first introduced for practical use in 1954. Oh wait…hold, please.
Solar Power Beats Coal And Natural Gas, Too
The latest report from the US Energy Information Agency demonstrates just how soundly Trump has failed to stop the renewable energy revolution, particularly in the case of solar power.
Drawing from EIA statistics, the Solar Energy Industries Association notes that solar power now covers the equivalent of 50 million US households. That’s quite a feat for a relatively new energy resource, and a good part of the credit goes to a steep drop in the cost of silicon-based solar cells. Here in the US, thin film CdTe solar cells have also made a significant contribution to nation’s utility-scale solar profile.
