News

US Projections Show Strong Growth for Solar PV

February 03, 2004 by Jeff Shepard

Power generation from solar photovoltaics (PV) in the United States will grow by 28.8 percent over the next two decades according to a new report by the US Department of Energy (DOE, Washington, DC). Projections from the DOE indicate that output from solar PV will rise from 0.08 billion kilowatt-hours this year to 1.02 billion kilowatt-hours in 2025, while the installed capacity of the technology will rise from 0.04 GW to 0.41 GW. For wind, output will rise from 17.38 billion kilowatt-hours this year to 53.16 billion kilowatt-hours in 2025, while capacity will increase from 6.50 GW now to 15.99 GW in 2025.

The projections are contained in the Annual Energy Outlook 2004 from DOE’s Energy Information Administration, and cover the commercial electricity industry and small power producers. The data were prepared for the reference case of the outlook using the National Energy Modelling System. The complete report can be accessed on the Internet at: http://www.eia.doe.gov/oiaf/aeo/supplement/pdf/sup_elec.pdf

Combined heat and power (co-generation) will contribute 54.36 billion kilowatt-hours by 2025 from its total installed capacity of 8.29 GW, of which municipal solid waste is only 0.25 GW. Small solar PV systems on homes and commercial facilities will add 2.42 billion kilowatt-hours of output by 2025, an increase of 15.4 percent from current generation, while hydro generates another 4.11 billion kilowatt-hours. The installed capacity for end-use PV will be 1.13 GW by 2025, up 15.4 percent from the current level of 0.06 GW.