Energy from Solar Power, New Capacity: We’re Number 2
According to the US Energy Information Agency, just over half of the new US energy capacity generated in 2023 will come from solar power. This will be the most solar capacity added in a single year in the US and the first time that more than half of the US capacity additions are coming from solar. Through the Inflation Reduction Act’s Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund, the EPA launched a $7 billion grant competition for solar energy, targeted for millions of low-income households, a program championed by Vermont senator Bernie Sanders.
In 2022, the United States had 204 total Terra-Watt hours (TWh) of solar production; in 2005, that figure was just 0.55 Terra-Watts. (A Terra-Watt hour is enough electricity to fully power 70,000 homes for a year). China is the leader in solar production, with 420 TWh; in 2005 it had just 0.08 TWh. India is the third top generator with 95 TWh, followed by Germany (59), Australia (33.5) and Spain 32.8)
Sources: Wind, Solar, and Batteries Increasingly Account for More New US Power Capacity Additions,” Today in Energy, USEIA, March 6, 2023, https://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.php?id=55719#:~:text=As%20of%20January%202023%2C%2073.5,in%202023%20is%20solar%20power. “EPA Launches $7 Billion Competition to Bring Low-Cost Solar Energy to More Hard-Working American Families, The White House, June 28, 2023, https://www.whitehouse.gov/cleanenergy/clean-energy-updates/2023/06/28/epa-launches-7-billion-competition-to-bring-low-cost-solar-energy-to-more-hard-working-american-families/; Our World in Data, https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/solar-energy-consumption?tab=chart&country=IND~CHN~AUS~USA~ZAF~ESP~OWID_WRL~DEU~GBR~BRA~FRA~CAN
