Story at a glance
- The Biden administration announced its plans to produce 45 percent of the United States’ electricity through solar power by 2050.
- Solar power only made up 3 percent of the country’s total electricity usage in 2020.
- Reaching net zero carbon dioxide emissions by 2050 by pivoting to the use of clean energy is critical to combat the effects of climate change.
The Biden administration announced Wednesday it plans to produce 45 percent of the United States’ electricity through solar power by 2050.
In 2020, solar power only made up 3 percent of the country’s total electricity usage. In order to reach this goal, the U.S. would need to double its installation of solar energy every year for the next four years.
However, a new report by the Department of Energy, called the “Solar Futures Study,” found that reducing costs, implementing new policies, and installing more solar panels could put the U.S. on target to do so, reaching 40 percent solar electricity usage by 2035.
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“The study illuminates the fact that solar, our cheapest and fastest-growing source of clean energy, could produce enough electricity to power all of the homes in the U.S. by 2035 and employ as many as 1.5 million people in the process,” Secretary of Energy Jennifer M. Granholm said in a news release.
“Achieving this bright future requires a massive and equitable deployment of renewable energy and strong decarbonization policies — exactly what is laid out in the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and President Biden’s Build Back Better agenda,” she added.
Reaching net zero carbon dioxide emissions by 2050 by pivoting to the use of clean energy is critical to combat the effects of climate change.
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