Neagle B.
Borrego Solar Systems, US
Keywords: rebate, solar, United States solar
In 2006, 1,744MW of solar capacity was installed in the world. The United States only contributed 8% or 140 MW, while other countries such as Germany and Japan set new records for solar energy in the world. With an astounding 968MW, Germany is currently leading the world in number of watts installed, and that number is growing each day. From the Graph 1 below, it is evident that Germany is leading the way in the solar market, but the United States has a much higher potential for solar energy. Why are the numbers of installations so different if the United States has more readily available sun energy? The discrepancy in the number of installations lies with the available incentives and federal policies. The United States has over fifty different rebate and interconnection programs, while other countries like Germany, have nationwide incentives and plans to make adoption of solar energy easy. The United States will not become a leader in the world-wide solar industry unless national incentives and mandatory programs are implemented.
Journal: TechConnect Briefs
Volume: Technical Proceedings of the 2008 Clean Technology Conference and Trade Show
Published: June 1, 2008
Pages: 79 - 82
Industry sector: Energy & Sustainability
Topic: Solar Technologies
ISBN: 1-4200-8502-0