H-u-u-u-u-u-ge U.S. Solar Potential

New NREL study details US rooftop solar PV potential at 1,118GW plus

Mark Osborne, March 28, 2016 (PV Tech)

“…[There is significantly more potential for US building rooftops to generate electricity from solar PV (photovoltaics) systems than previously estimated, according to Rooftop Solar Photovoltaic Technical Potential in the United States: A Detailed Assessment from the U.S. Energy Department's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). It shows]…the technical potential of 1,118GW of capacity and 1,432TWh of annual energy generation was possible, equivalent to 39% of current US electricity sales. This is almost double (664GW - 800 TWh) the previous analysis undertaken and reported in 2008…The significant difference was said to be attributed to increases in PV module power density, improved estimation of building suitability, higher estimates of the total number of buildings, and improvements in PV performance simulation tools that previously tended to underestimated production…NREL indicated that the latest total technical potential capacity analysis assumed a module efficiency of 16% to represent a mixture of various technology types…” click here for more

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