http://www.truth-out.org/news/item/35633-forty-percent-of-us-electricity-could-come-from-rooftop-solar
[links in on-line article]
Forty Percent of US Electricity Could Come From Rooftop Solar
Saturday, 16 April 2016 00:00
By s.e. smith, Care2 | Report
With rooftop solar arrays becoming more common, the Department of Energy
decided to do some exploring to quantify exactly how much energy
Americans could generate if they installed photovoltaic systems
efficiently and extensively.
What they found was startling: The country could meet 39 percent of its
energy needs through rooftop photovoltaics, and, surprisingly, small
structures like private homes are likely to return the best results.
In a country still struggling for energy independence and looking for
ways to reduce its carbon footprint, this is big news. The next step is
to make it happen.
Researchers at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory took a look at
data from 128 cities -- accounting for almost a quarter of the buildings
in the U.S. -- and evaluated them for solar potential with the use of
tools like light detection and ranging (LiDAR) to determine their energy
potential.
They found that solar arrays could generate 1,432 terawatt hours of
electricity annually if systems were installed correctly and efficiently.
Depending on where you live, you can even crunch the numbers for your
own home using Google's Project Sunroof, which uses your address to
gather data about prevailing conditions and determine how much power you
could generate. Compare your utility bill against the results to see if
you could meet all or part of your energy needs -- or even exceed them,
allowing you to feed power back into the grid.
Solar energy is growing increasingly popular, and it's definitely not an
alternative energy outlier anymore. The government is heavily invested
in making it more accessible through measures like the Rooftop Solar
Challenge, a push to address affordability and other barriers to
installation.
In addition to addressing affordability with investments and incentives,
the government also helps with permitting and zoning, utility policies
and other issues that can intersect with making rooftop solar
accessible. They're rolling out the program in major cities where it
will have the most immediate impact, but the lessons learned will be
valuable for small communities as well.
Photovoltaic arrays are indisputably becoming more affordable, which is
a good sign. Typically, the more people adopt a product, the further
down the price goes, as companies can invest in mass production and
development that ultimately saves money across the board -- just like
buying in bulk is cheaper than picking up packaged versions of the same
foods.
Integrating rooftop solar shouldn't just be about retrofitting existing
homes. The DOE wants to see it integrated right into community
development plans and long-term city planning to encourage people to
build solar generation into new development.
Such planning can include the use of financial and social incentives to
encourage developers and homeowners to think solar from the start, and
over time, solar could meet more and more of our energy needs -- the
study points out that it doesn't even account for ground-based arrays,
which would also cut down on the use of non-renewable sources.
Solar power offers a lot of advantages over other forms of electricity
generation, including the fact that it can be relatively unobtrusive, a
concern in some communities. Critics sometimes argue that both wind and
wave power are disruptive because they're not attractive, posing a
serious barrier to widespread installation and maintenance of such systems.
Solar can quietly generate energy on roofs across the country, while
large arrays can be replaced in more remote areas with ample sunlight to
generate energy without altering views. Being realistic about the
aesthetic shortcomings of some alternative energy generation tools is
important, as people displeased with the look of things like windmills
can raise substantial opposition and create unnecessary red tape that
may delay installation for months or even years.
Solar, on the other hand, is easy and straightforward -- and this study
shows how advantageous it is as a frontrunner in the fight to drop coal
and other polluting power sources.
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