The road to decarbonizing the American power grid has hit a new milestone. US renewable electricity surpassed coal in 2022 for the first time ever and solar energy can now power one in five homes.
With the passing of the Inflation Reduction Act, we’ve seen a tremendous impact in the clean energy sector, with renewable energy like solar power, making strides in its uptake across the country. Last year, we saw coal usage decline from 23% of the US’s power supply to 20%, and it’s forecasted that it will go down to 17% in 2023, which is a promising sign that we are on the right track.
The United States' renewed position as a leader in climate action has a global impact. By choosing to install solar energy, American households and businesses are contributing to this climate action. Our efforts at Palmetto are part of the larger movement to increase the use of solar power in the US, which is essential for generating clean energy for the American electrical grid.
Even though we are now four months into 2023, it’s important that we take the time to reflect on 2022 and what insights we can gain about solar energy and the surge in its adoption.
Source: National Renewable Energy Laboratory Office
2022 was a Record Year for Renewable Energy
The US Energy Information Administration (EIA) recently produced a report that outlined just what a bright year for solar 2022 was. Here are some of our main takeaways from the report:
- For the first time ever, renewable energy generation has surpassed coal as an energy source in the US.
- The largest producers of utility-scale solar electricity in 2022 were California (26%), Texas (16%), and North Carolina (8%).
While the EIA report didn’t indicate all the reasons why solar power was so popular, we thought to do some more digging and tell you what we found.
One reason why we are seeing an uptick in solar energy popularity in the energy landscape is that the price of solar energy technology has declined 53% over the last 10 years, which makes it more affordable and attractive for Americans. The influx of tax credits has helped homeowners and businesses adopt solar energy. If you read our survey, you can find out more about how Palmetto solar customers feel about the tax credits and what upgrades they plan to invest in. Being a clean tech company with a strong interest in solar energy, it was only natural that we would want to read the Solar Energy Industries Association's US Solar Market Insight 2022 Year in Review. We want to share with you some of its key solar energy statistics that helps to put 2022 into perspective: - 700,000 homeowners installed solar energy systems in 2022. This is a new record!
- It’s estimated that, over the next 10 years, the US solar industry will grow five times larger than what it is today.
It should be noted that solar energy still faced some hurdles last year, despite the reduction in costs and tax incentives. There were issues with the solar energy supply chain, a tariff investigation, and equipment detainments. And yet, in spite of all the obstacles, residential solar installations still saw a record growth. 
The combined wind and solar share of total generation increased from 12% in 2021 to 14% in 2022.
Clean energy is for everyone
Ever since 2010, Palmetto has grown to help thousands of people across 25 states (and counting!) make the switch to solar energy. The green transition remains a top priority when it comes to meeting climate goals, and we care deeply about the environment and how we can empower everyday Americans to take their own climate action.
At Palmetto, we firmly believe that clean energy is for everyone. We also recognize that the more time that passes, the greater the impact of climate change. We are proud to be a part of the green transition movement and to uplift Americans across the country by supporting them to take climate action while also saving money along the way.
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50 w
Very encouraging!!
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50 w
Very good news!! I just have one question: what replaces solar at night? do all these systems have batteries for when the sun is not out?
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46 w
@tony_de_la_concha Yes, renewables mean variable supply, but remember that utilities have been dealing with variable LOAD from the very beginning. There are a great many things that can be done to use that energy during the day (like charging EVs and utility-scale storage).
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51 w
Nice to receive such good news. We can do it.
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51 w
Achievable is what it is ... everywhere
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51 w
Truly encouraging!
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51 w
very brilliant news
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51 w
Great news, let's hope it continues like this in the years to come, and the US can say goodbye to coal forever
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51 w
Very good news.