Will the U.S. Reach it’s SunShot Initiative 2020 Goals?

At the halfway mark of the President’s decade-long SunShot Initiative, the solar industry is already approaching the 70 percent mark to achieving SunShot’s goal to make solar power fully cost-competitive with traditional energy sources, without solar incentives, by 2020.

Take a look at what’s been happening in the solar industry and what the SunShot Initiative 2020 goal is driving:

Decreasing Solar Costs

Steep reductions in module prices primarily drove down the cost of residential solar between 2008 and 2012, but in the years since then, reductions are coming from lowering soft costs. For utility scale solar, PV costs have decreased by nearly 60 percent. These falling utility costs have allowed a series of new record low power purchase agreements (PPAs) during the past two years. Included in these PPAs are numerous contract announcements coming in at or below 5 cents per kilowatt-hour.

Increasing Solar Capacity

The Department of Energy’s SunShot Initiative is paying off. The 2014-year was a record breaking one for solar installations in the United States, up nearly 40 percent over 2013 with 20 gigawatts of installed capacity. That’s enough power to provide electricity to approximately 4 million homes.

New Solar Projects

The United States has become the third largest solar market in the world. Currently there are approximately 800,000 solar projects operating across the country. And, of all of the new electric generating projects coming online during 2014, solar represented 32 percent of them in the United States.

Creating Solar Jobs

The number of solar projects being installed, commissioned, and then need ongoing operations and maintenance (O&M) is rapidly increasing. With that increase comes the creation of solar jobs.

The solar industry in the United States employs nearly 174,000 workers. This figure is up 22 percent over 2013. By 2020, to reach the Administration’s goal, nearly 75,000 workers need to be trained.

Miller Bros. Solar (MBS) is a chosen leader in operations and maintenance (O&M) solutions due to the company’s project expertise, full construction capabilities, and 160+ pieces of heavy equipment. MBS is one of the few electrical contractors that can simultaneously self-perform multiple utility scale solar projects while exceeding client expectations, controlling costs and adhering to timelines and customer schedules.

Miller Bros. Solar provides O&M services for solar projects in the following states: Connecticut, Delaware, Ohio, Georgia, Indiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Vermont, Virginia, and West Virginia.

For more information, visit http://millerbrossolar.com or call 610-832-1000.