Solar Performance and Efficiency

The conversion efficiency of a photovoltaic (PV) cell, or solar cell, is the percentage of the solar energy shining on a PV device that is converted into usable electricity. Improving this conversion efficiency is a key goal of research and helps make PV technologies cost-competitive with conventional sources of energy.

US States That Produce the Most Solar Energy: Who''s Following

14. Virginia. Annual solar energy production (megawatthours): 949,111 Change in solar energy production (YoY): +24.4% Solar share of total energy production: 1.0% Solar share of total renewable energy production: 15.3% 13.

Solar power in the United States

OverviewSolar potentialHistorySolar photovoltaic powerConcentrated solar power (CSP)Government supportSee alsoFurther reading

Solar power includes solar farms as well as local distributed generation, mostly on rooftops and increasingly from community solar arrays. In 2023, utility-scale solar power generated 164.5 terawatt-hours (TWh), or 3.9% of electricity in the United States. Total solar generation that year, including estimated small-scale photovoltaic generation, was 238 TWh.

Utility-scale U.S. solar electricity generation continues to grow in

Energy Information Administration - EIA - Official Energy Statistics from the U.S. Government of all new electricity generating capacity to come online in the United States. Three states accounted for almost one-half of the utility-scale solar fleet in the United States during August 2024: California (21.0 GW), Texas (18.8 GW), and Florida

Home solar panel adoption continues to rise in the U.S.

Residential solar power still generates less electricity than large utility-scale solar, such as solar panel farms. And all solar power together generates only a small amount of the electricity used in the United States. In 2021, solar generated just 3% of all utility-scale electricity, a far smaller share than natural gas (38%) or coal (22%).

The United States consumed a record amount of renewable energy

Wind energy, or electricity generated by wind-powered turbines, is almost exclusively consumed in the electric power sector. Wind energy accounted for about 26% of U.S. renewable energy consumption in 2020. Wind surpassed hydroelectricity in 2019 to become the single most-consumed source of renewable energy on an annual basis. In 2020, U.S. wind

Solar Market Insight Report – SEIA

In Q2 2024, the US solar market installed 9.4 GW dc of capacity, a record second quarter for the industry. While installations declined 21% quarter-over-quarter, they increased 29% from a year earlier. Solar accounted for 67% of all new electricity-generating capacity added to the US grid in the first half of 2024.

Solar Energy by State November 2024 | Choose Energy

The United States'' percentage of electricity generated from solar energy decreased 1.6% from July to August. Solar energy production increased 28.3% nationwide from August 2023 to August 2024. The following table ranks the best and worst states for solar energy production (shown in thousand megawatt-hours) in July and August, number 1

Electricity generation, capacity, and sales in the United States

The United States also exports and imports some fossil fuels (coal, natural gas, and petroleum), about 19% was from nuclear energy, and about 21% was from renewable energy sources. The percentage shares of utility-scale net electricity Intermittent renewable resource generators include wind and solar energy power plants, which generate

Where solar is found

Electricity generation is the top use of solar energy in the United States. In 2023, California accounted for the largest percentage share of total utility-scale solar electricity generation (25%), followed by Texas (17%). California accounted for nearly 40% of total generation from small-scale PV systems. Most small-scale PV systems are

Solar State By State – SEIA

The Solar Energy Industries Association® (SEIA) is leading the transformation to a clean energy economy. SEIA works with its 1,200 member companies and other strategic partners to fight for policies that create jobs in every community and shape fair market rules that promote competition and the growth of reliable, low-cost solar power.

How much solar energy do US homes produce?

The federal solar tax credit covers 30% of a qualifying home solar energy system installed by the end of 2032. In terms of energy produced, the cost of solar panels has fallen by nearly two-thirds since 2010. In 2022, the total cost of residential solar energy systems cost $3.16 per watt, compared to $8.70 per watt in 2010.

Solar Energy

About 30 percent of the solar energy that reaches Earth is reflected back into space. The rest is absorbed into Earth''s atmosphere. The radiation warms Earth''s surface, and the surface radiates some of the energy back out in the form of infrared waves. Green Chicago Millennium Park in Chicago, Illinois, United States, has one of the

Renewable Energy

The first chart shows this as a stacked area chart, which allows us to more readily see the breakdown of the renewable mix and the relative contribution of each. The second chart is shown as a line chart, allowing us to see more clearly how each source is changing over time. Solar energy generation. This interactive chart shows the amount

U.S. energy facts explained

Energy consumption and carbon dioxide emissions indicators; Primary energy consumption per capita: 279 million Btu per person: Primary energy consumption per real dollar of GDP: 4.18 thousand Btu per chained (2017) dollar: Energy-related CO 2 emissions per capita: 14.3 metric tons (31,526 pounds) per person: Energy-related CO 2 emissions per

A Decade of Growth in Solar and Wind Power: Trends Across the U.S.

Box 2. Solar Power in the National Electricity Mix. Utility-scale solar accounts for around 8% of the nation''s capacity from all utility-scale electricity sources (including renewables, nuclear

Solar Futures Study

The Solar Futures Study explores solar energy''s role in transitioning to a carbon-free electric grid. Produced by the U.S. Department of Energy Solar Energy Technologies Office (SETO) and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and released on September 8, 2021, the study finds that with aggressive cost reductions, supportive policies, and large-scale

2024 Current State of the Union: US Energy

How has US energy consumption, from coal to renewable energy, changed over time? How expensive is gasoline? up 0.1 percentage points over January 2023. Last year, the US continued to import more than it exported; however, the trade deficit fell 22% from $990.3 billion in 2022 to $773.4 billion. Solar energy production surpassed

Renewables became the second-most prevalent U.S.

Wind, currently the most prevalent source of renewable electricity in the United States, grew 14% in 2020 from 2019. Utility-scale solar generation (from projects greater than 1 megawatt) increased 26%, and small-scale solar,

In the first half of 2022, 24% of U.S. electricity generation came

In the United States, most renewable electricity generation comes from hydropower, solar, and wind. Generation from renewable energy sources has grown rapidly as renewable capacity, mostly solar and wind, has been added to the grid. In 2021, a record amount of new utility-scale solar capacity was installed in the United States.

Electricity generation, capacity, and sales in the United States

Electricity generation. In 2023, net generation of electricity from utility-scale generators in the United States was about 4,178 billion kilowatthours (kWh) (or about 4.18 trillion kWh). EIA estimates that an additional 73.62 billion kWh (or about 0.07 trillion kWh) were generated with small-scale solar photovoltaic (PV) systems.