How Solar Power Can Grow Energy Infrastructure for All of Us

By 2025, the United States will need more than 2 billion solar energy systems to meet demand.

In the U.S., the average cost of installing a solar system is now $50,000 per watt, a price that is now lower than it was 20 years ago.

But it’s still not cheap enough.

Solar energy systems currently generate less than half the electricity of traditional coal and natural gas-fired power plants, according to a recent study from the Solar Energy Industries Association.

Solar systems currently use around 70 percent less energy per watt than conventional gas- or coal-fired plants, and they produce roughly half the carbon dioxide emissions.

That means that the amount of solar energy we can grow is limited, but not insurmountable.

This article was originally published in Next Big Progress and was reproduced with permission.

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