A SOLAR SOLUTION FOR THE NEXT DECADE

Solar Energy Could Meet 15 Percent of US Electricity by 2020
December 16, 2009 (Solar Energy Industries Association)

"Leaders representing the U.S. solar energy industry reported the potential of solar energy to meet 15 percent of U.S. energy needs by 2020…The “Expanding Solar Energy in the United States” briefing was hosted by the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) and featured U.S. solar industry leaders outlining the Solar Bill of Rights legislation needed to rapidly deploy solar energy to fight climate change and create jobs…

"In a report released jointly with solar industry groups representing more than 90 countries around the world, SEIA presented an accelerated solar deployment scenario for the United States to meet 15 percent of electricity needs by 2020. Twelve percent would come from solar electric power generated by photovoltaic solar panels and concentrating solar power plants. Another 3 percent of electricity would be offset by solar thermal (solar water heating) systems."

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"The report also noted the key policies needed for the industry to scale up and compete effectively…conveyed in the Solar Bill of Rights…[which] lays out eight basic rights that give the solar industry equal access to the electricity marketplace and levels the playing field with the fossil fuel industries…

"…[1] The right to put solar on our homes and businesses…[2] The right to connect our solar energy systems to the grid…[3] The right to net meter and receive at least full retail rates…[4] The right to a fair competitive environment…"

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"…[5] The right to equal access to public lands…[6] The right to build and interconnect new transmission lines…[7] The right to buy solar electricity from utilities…[8] Consumers have the right to the highest ethical treatment from the solar industry…

"The industry estimates that by 2020 more than 880,000 new solar jobs would be created in the US while reducing total energy emissions by 10 percent (nearly 600 million metric tonnes of CO2-equivalent emissions would be avoided annually)…"