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Building a Solar Future

http://environmentamerica.org/programs/ame/building-solar-future

The sky is the limit for solar power in America. Solar capacity has tripled in the last two years. But despite this progress, Americans still get less than 1% of our power from the sun and instead get most of our electricity from dirty and dangerous energy sources. That’s why we’re working toward a national goal of getting at least 10 percent of our power from the sun by 2030.

Pollution-free, limitless power at our fingertips

The sky is the limit for solar power in America. We could meet all of our energy needs by capturing just a sliver of the virtually limitless and pollution-free energy of the sun.

Solar capacity has tripled in the last two years, and in the first half of 2014, solar energy accounted for more than half of all the new electric generation capacity installed in the United States. The biggest factor in that progress is the leadership of local and state officials, who understand the benefits of solar energy and have followed through with policies to expand access to this tremendous resource.

Half a million solar homes and businessess already

More than half a million homes and businesses have installed solar. With concern about pollution from fossil fuels and the cost of solar declining, solar is becoming a go to energy options for citizens and businesses across America.

Despite that progress, Americans still get less than 1% of our power from the sun. That means we’re still getting most of our electricity from dirty and dangerous energy sources like coal, gas, and nuclear. As solar advances, powerful interests in the fossil fuel industry and their utility allies are pushing back hard to stop solar’s surge. If we don’t counter their efforts with a strong commitment to steadily expand our efforts to capture the sun’s energy, the growth will stall.

10 percent by 2030: A bold but achievable goal

The progress we’ve made should give us the confidence we can take it to the next level.

That’s why we’re working toward a national goal of getting at least 10 percent of our power from the sun by 2030, would provide enough energy to replace half of our nation’s coal plants and more than half of the energy we use to fuel today’s cars. Achieving this goal should be easy. All we have to do is steadily grow solar by less the 20% each year.

To reach this national goal, we’re working across the country to get local and state officials to commit to expand solar and support concrete policies to build on the progress that has been made so far by working to get local, state and national leaders to lean into solar by committing to big goals the policies to back them up.

The roadblock to our progress

Despite solar power’s popularity and increasing success, fossil fuel interests and defenders of the status quo are ramping up their efforts to obstruct our progress to grow solar. But if all of us who believe solar energy must be front and center in our nation’s energy plan make our voices heard and demand progress, we can overcome that resistance and build a solar future.