The OurEnergyLibrary aggregates and indexes publicly available fact sheets, journal articles, reports, studies, and other publications on U.S. energy topics. It is updated every week to include the most recent energy resources from academia, government, industry, non-profits, think tanks, and trade associations. Suggest a resource by emailing us at info@ourenergypolicy.org.
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Berkeley Lab’s annual Utility-Scale Solar report presents trends in deployment, technology, capital expenditures (CapEx), operating expenses (OpEx), capacity factors, the levelized cost of solar energy (LCOE), power purchase agreement (PPA) prices, and wholesale market value among the fleet of utility-scale photovoltaic (PV) and PV+storage plants in the United States (where “utility-scale” is defined as any ground mounted plant larger than 5 MWAC). This summary briefing highlights select key trends from the latest edition of the report, covering data on plants built through year-end 2021. For additional data, graphs, and analysis, see the full report (in slide deck form), the accompanying …
View Full ResourceThe study estimates the performance of behind-the-meter solar PV-plus-energy-storage-systems (PVESS) in providing critical-load or whole-building backup across a wide range of geographies, building types, and power interruption conditions. The study also considers a set of 10 historical long-duration power outage events and evaluates how PVESS could have performed in providing backup power during those specific events. The analysis is the first in what will be a series of studies by Berkeley Lab, in collaboration with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, on the use of PVESS for backup power. This initial study is intended to provide a baseline set of performance …
View Full ResourceThe study estimates the performance of behind-the-meter solar PV-plus-energy-storage-systems (PVESS) in providing critical-load or whole-building backup across a wide range of geographies, building types, and power interruption conditions. The study also considers a set of 10 historical long-duration power outage events and evaluates how PVESS could have performed in providing backup power during those specific events. The analysis is the first in what will be a series of studies by Berkeley Lab, in collaboration with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, on the use of PVESS for backup power. This initial study, which relies on simulated end-use level building loads, solar …
View Full ResourceSolar energy plays a vital role in growing the United States’ domestic clean energy resources. Rapid technology improvements have enabled utility-scale solar energy to grow exponentially; there is enough solar capacity in the U.S. to power more than 12.8 million homes. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, the U.S. can meet 40% of its electricity needs by 2035 with solar power.…
View Full ResourceThis summary is intended only to provide a quick overview of some key provisions in the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). As more details emerge, SEIA will publish additional in-depth guides to the enacted provisions for member companies. SEIA is working with member companies to implement these provisions with relevant federal agencies to ensure that the guidance and regulations issued are workable. When agencies issue final guidance and regulations, SEIA will update the detailed guides for member companies. Nothing in this summary should be interpreted as tax or legal advice. …
View Full ResourceIf America is to reach its climate goals, our country must achieve solar deployment targets like those envisioned in the Solar+ Decade, where solar will account for 30% of all U.S. electricity generation by 2030. Achieving this target will require a strong U.S. solar manufacturing base, which is also critical to preserving economic and national security. In this roadmap, you will read how policy, supply chain factors, international trade, economic growth and environmental and climate concerns can drive a revitalization of an American solar supply chain. This roadmap is the first report in a series of papers that will focus …
View Full ResourceTo reach President Biden’s goal of 100% renewable electricity by 2035, the United States will need to build thousands of utility-scale solar projects covering millions of acres. Part of the reason is that solar panels are not energy dense, converting only about 25% of sunlight into electricity. More efficient solar panels would need less space.
Rural areas and agricultural land present attractive sites for utility-scale solar because of the large parcel sizes that limit conflicts with neighboring properties. Some people, however, oppose using agricultural land for solar projects for aesthetic reasons, the potential loss of food and fiber production, or …
View Full ResourceClimate change impacts the electric power system by affecting both the load and generation. It is paramount to understand this impact in the context of renewable energy as their market share has increased and will continue to grow. This study investigates the impact of climate change on the supply of renewable energy through applying novel metrics of intermittency, power production and storage required by the renewable energy plants as a function of historical climate data variability. Here we focus on and compare two disparate locations, Palma de Mallorca in the Balearic Islands and Cordova, Alaska. The main results of this …
View Full Resource“Solar in the Southeast” illuminates the critical role of utilities in the growing southeastern solar market. Southeastern states, particularly Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee, grant monopoly utilities–rather than a competitive marketplace–the responsibility and control over power supplies. Consequently, the location of a home or business is the primary determinant not only of which utility will supply the electricity, but also the amount of solar within that portfolio.
The purpose of this report is to review emissions and generation trends of the electric power sector in the Southeast. The purpose of this report is to document …
View Full ResourceCommunity solar is now considered big business and is still one of the fastest growing segments of the solar industry. Community solar serving low and moderate-income (LMI) households is growing even faster, on average 46% year on year since 2011. Findings across all of LIFT Solar research on growth, finance, and customer experience seems to echo a similar refrain: LMI households are an important and viable segment of the community solar market, with similar growth, financial performance, and customer motivations.
Our research has found that there are real differences in how policy, incentives, and value impact the deployment of community …
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