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REPORT: U.S. Could Generate More Solar Electricity Than We Currently Consume

How prolific is solar energy? So much so, the country could power itself 100 times over with energy from the sun.

In a new report released last month, the Environment America Research and Policy Center demonstrated that solar is an alternative energy source that has monumental potential for powering the entire country.

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The report argues that the U.S. “has the potential to produce more than 100 times as much electricity from solar PV and concentrating solar power (CSP) installations as the nation consumes each year.” It adds that every single state could generate more solar electricity than its residents currently consume.

A visualization of this was created for a Washington Post blog article. It show states that can get 1 to 5 times their current energy needs from solar, states that can get 5 to 25 times their energy, states that can get 25 to 100 times what they’re using, and states that can get over 100 times their current needs:

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The report also suggests that 35 million homes and businesses could potentially install solar on their roofs:

While we’ll never make use of all of solar’s potential, the message here is that it’s technically achievable. In reality, we only need to exploit a fraction of this solar potential to meet our current electricity needs.

From our vantage point, solar’s growth trajectory looks extremely promising.

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