Report: Solar power will account for 84% of the new US electricity added in 2024.

A report released on Tuesday stated that solar energy contributed 84% of the new electricity generation capacity to the U.S. grid in the past year. However, the industry will face challenges with the new energy policies adopted by the U.S. government.

In a report, Wood Mackenzie and the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA), said that the country will install 50 gigawatts of new solar power in 2024. They added that this is the largest growth year for any energy technology over the past two decades.

Why it is important

Solar industry has been a major recipient of subsidies in the landmark climate change law passed by former president Joe Biden, Inflation Reduction Act.

Clean energy deployment would be affected if the Trump administration removed tax credits under the 2022 inflation reduction act.

Since Donald Trump's election, the clean-energy industry has been on alert. His first executive orders prioritised unleashing U.S. coal-fuel production. They also halted federal wind-projects and frozen funding for clean energy projects under two Biden era laws.

By the Numbers

The report warns that the solar deployment will be impacted by changes in federal tax credits, supply chains, and policy.

According to the report, the low-case forecast predicted a 130 GW decrease in solar deployment for the next decade, compared to base case. This represents a loss of investment of nearly $250 billion.

KEY QUOTES

Sylvia Levya Martinez is Principal Analyst for Wood Mackenzie's North America Utility-Scale Solar. She said that the Inflation Reduction Act included several solar policies, including credits, which helped to drive the interest in the market.

We still face many challenges, including an unprecedented growth in the load on the grid. It would be detrimental to the continued growth of the industry if many of these policies are eliminated or drastically altered. Reporting by Gnaneshwarrajan in Bengaluru, and Nichola Groom. Editing by Lincoln Feast.

(source: Reuters)