PHOTON International The Photovoltaic Magazine

PV has potential to cover 71 percent of US electricity needs

A study issued by the Union of Concerned Scientists (USC) on May 13 says PV could provide 71 percent of total US electricity needs. According to the authors of the study, entitled Plugging in Renewable Energy: Grading the States, the northwestern state of Montana leads the pack with the potential to produce nearly 10 times its electricity needs from PV in relation to electricity sales in 2001.

	© data: UCS
Wasted promise: While a distant second to wind, PV has the potential to make a difference in the US electricity market.

The findings are the result of a »conservative estimate,« say the authors, based on average solar insolation by state, the use of 0.5 percent of the state's total land area on rooftops and in open spaces (of which 30 percent would be taken up by PV panels, with the rest for supporting infrastructure), and an average system efficiency of 10 percent. But PV comes in at a distant second to wind power, which the study says has the potential to supply 459 percent of the nation's 2001 electricity requirements.

A report card on renewables support as a whole gives California, Nevada, New Mexico, Massachusetts, and Minnesota top grades for their commitment to increasing electricity generated from renewable energy sources. Six Midwestern states are lumped at the bottom in what is dubbed the Hall of Shame. »Only five states are carrying the ball for the entire nation,« says co-author Jeff Deyette. »It is time for the federal government to enact a fair national standard to improve our country's energy security, and environment.«

UCS is an independent, nonprofit alliance of 60,000 US citizens and scientists advocating renewable energy policies.