boom

Explosive Growth Of Electric Vehicles | Earth Wise

May 25, 2023 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

Not long ago, electric cars were a rarity. Ten years ago, annual global sales of EVs were only a few hundred thousand. As of today, globally, still less than one percent of all the cars on the road are electric. But that is changing rapidly.

In fact, electric vehicles are expected to capture nearly 20% of the global market this year. Global sales of EVs were 3 million in 2020 and 6.6 million in 2021. Last year, sales of electric vehicles hit 10 million and are expected to reach 14 million this year according to the International Energy Agency.

Analysts at the IEA have had to repeatedly revise their projections for future EV sales as the numbers keep going up faster than predicted. Last year, they projected that EVs would account for 21% of global sales by 2030. Now, they expect that EVs will reach 35% of sales by that year.

In the US, the EU, and China, policy efforts are in place to boost EV sales. In the US, the Inflation Reduction Act both supports the EV industry and subsidizes consumer purchases with tax credits. As a result of such policies, the IEA expects electric vehicles to account for 60% of sales across these three large markets by 2030.

Part of what is driving the boom in EV sales is that prices continue to come down for the vehicles. When operating and maintenance costs are figured in, the EVs come out considerably cheaper to own. In addition, there are starting to be price wars in the EV industry as competition heats up in the sector.

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EVs to Capture One-Fifth of Global Market This Year Amid ‘Explosive Growth’

Photo, posted May 7, 2022, courtesy of Sharon Hahn Darlin via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

A Solar Power Boom In Texas | Earth Wise

May 31, 2021 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

Texas has been a leader in wind energy for a number of years. In 2020, wind made up 23% of the state’s generating capacity and provided 20% of in-state generation. But although wind capacity in Texas has grown rapidly in recent years, solar power is expected to make up the largest share of the state’s capacity additions over the next two years.

Texas plans to add 4.6 gigawatts of utility-scale solar power this year and 5.4 gigawatts in 2022. This will give the state a total capacity of 15 gigawatts, which will nearly catch up to California, the state with the most large-scale solar power. California already has 16 gigawatts of installed solar capacity and plans to add about two more over the next two years.

The planned capacity for Texas will provide enough power for roughly 5 million homes, taking into account the intermittency of solar energy. Much of the new solar capacity will be in the Permian Basin in West Texas, which is a particularly sunny place. Because solar generation is greatest in the middle of the day, when wind generation is typically lower, the transmission line infrastructure already in place for the wind power will be adequate for the new solar installations.

The boom in solar power in Texas is driven in part by the federal solar Investment Tax Credit that is available to project developers as well as by the ever-lower cost of solar technology.

One-third of the utility-scale solar capacity planned to come online in the U.S. in the next two years will be in Texas. Currently, utility-scale solar only makes up 4% of electrical generating capacity in Texas, but that is clearly changing.

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Texas likely to add 10 GW of utility-scale solar capacity in the next two years

Photo, posted May 14, 2020, courtesy of Courtney Celley/USFWS via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Solar On Commercial Buildings | Earth Wise

September 17, 2020 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

The United States installed 3.6 gigawatts of photovoltaic solar capacity in the first quarter of this year to reach a total installed capacity of 81.4 GW. That is enough to power about 16 million American homes. More than 2/3 of that capacity has been installed during the past five years.

There has been a boom in solar installations in recent years and, until the Covid-19 pandemic stuck, 2020 was expected to be the biggest year yet. Now the unprecedented health, social, and economic conditions in our country creates great uncertainty in such forecasts.

Nevertheless, the opportunities for growth in solar power continue to be substantial. A new report from the energy research firm Wood Mackenzie looked at the prospects for using the roof space of commercial buildings for solar power.

Currently, just 3.5% of commercial buildings in the U.S. have solar panels on their roofs. Another 1% of those buildings are attached to solar projects located off-site. The report looked at how many buildings are potential targets for solar projects.

After accounting for buildings that are too small or that use too little electricity to make solar power a worthwhile investment, the report estimated that 70% of commercial buildings in the U.S. – amounting to some 600,000 sites – are candidates for solar installations. Doing this would provide 145 GW of new solar capacity, which is nearly twice as much as currently exists in this country.

Commercial solar installations have their own unique logistical and financial challenges. While utility solar can scale to lower costs and residential solar has financing opportunities, commercial solar has neither. But ultimately, it represents an important opportunity for our future energy system.

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U.S. Commercial Rooftops Hold 145 Gigawatts of Untapped Solar Potential

Photo, posted June 25, 2014, courtesy of Rob Baxter via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

More Renewables Without Storage In Texas

February 27, 2019 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

Texas has a Texas-sized appetite for electricity and relies most heavily on natural gas, coal and nuclear power to get it. But in recent times, wind power has grown tremendously in the Lone Star State and it has already leapfrogged past nuclear power. Coal could be the next domino to fall.

In the past few years, solar power has become competitive with wind in terms of price. Texas is a large, coastal state in the sunny southwestern U.S. and has significant solar resources. As a result, the amount of solar power in Texas is now growing rapidly.

In order for a combination of solar and wind power to address the bulk of electricity demand in Texas, there needs to be a way to provide reliability that these intermittent sources don’t necessarily provide. Energy storage is a solution that ultimately is likely to be part of most electricity grids, but currently it is still expensive on a utility scale.

A new study from Rice University looked at the complementarity of solar and wind power in Texas. Complementarity refers to balancing the output of solar and wind systems. The peak performance of wind and solar occurs at very different times in different regions of the state. The study suggests that the right mix of solar and wind systems in the right parts of Texas could provide a continuously reliable energy system. On both a yearly and daily basis, wind and solar power resources in Texas complement each other in terms of peak performance. It is a matter of locating the solar power and wind farms in the right places.

With the Texas solar industry really starting to boom, there is a real opportunity to integrate far more renewable energy into the Texas grid.

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More Renewables with Less Energy Storage: Texas Shows How

Photo, posted June 8, 2018, courtesy of Laura Lee Dooley via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Growing Use Of Wind And Solar Power

December 10, 2018 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

According to a new report from the U.S. Energy Information Administration, solar and wind energy now generate more than 20% of the electricity used in 10 states. Topping the list is Iowa, which got 37% of its electricity from wind and solar in 2017. The next three states were Kansas, Oklahoma, and South Dakota, all getting more than 30% of their power from the renewables. The top five states, which adds North Dakota to the list, actually get nearly all of their renewable energy from wind. In fact, during some months in 2017, Iowa and Kansas both got more than half of their electricity from wind.

New York’s Solar Boom

April 4, 2017 By EarthWise

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo recently announced that the state’s support for solar power initiatives has resulted in an 800% increase in industry growth since 2011. New York’s various renewable energy programs have resulted in $1.5 billion in investments. The NY-Sun Initiative has produce a 10-fold increase in solar projects in several regions of the state. The Mohawk Valley led the way with an almost 16-fold increase in solar capacity.

Big Solar Is Booming

April 5, 2016 By WAMC WEB

When we think about solar power, we mostly think about rooftops covered with solar panels. And indeed, there are more than 800,000 solar rooftops in the U.S. and the numbers are growing.

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