IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jeners/v14y2021i23p8142-d695303.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Solar Energy in the United States: Development, Challenges and Future Prospects

Author

Listed:
  • Sanzana Tabassum

    (Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Islamic University of Technology, Gazipur 1704, Bangladesh)

  • Tanvin Rahman

    (Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Khulna University of Engineering and Technology, Khulna 9203, Bangladesh)

  • Ashraf Ul Islam

    (Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Khulna University of Engineering and Technology, Khulna 9203, Bangladesh)

  • Sumayya Rahman

    (Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Khulna University of Engineering and Technology, Khulna 9203, Bangladesh)

  • Debopriya Roy Dipta

    (Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Khulna University of Engineering and Technology, Khulna 9203, Bangladesh)

  • Shidhartho Roy

    (Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Khulna University of Engineering and Technology, Khulna 9203, Bangladesh)

  • Naeem Mohammad

    (Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Khulna University of Engineering and Technology, Khulna 9203, Bangladesh)

  • Nafiu Nawar

    (Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Khulna University of Engineering and Technology, Khulna 9203, Bangladesh)

  • Eklas Hossain

    (Department of Electrical Engineering & Renewable Energy, Oregon Tech, Klamath Falls, OR 97601, USA)

Abstract

The ambitious target of net-zero emission by 2050 has been aggressively driving the renewable energy sector in many countries. Leading the race of renewable energy sources is solar energy, the fastest growing energy source at present. The solar industry has witnessed more growth in the last decade than it has in the past 40 years, owing to its technological advancements, plummeting costs, and lucrative incentives. The United States is one of the largest producers of solar power in the world and has been a pioneer in solar adoption, with major projects across different technologies, mainly photovoltaic, concentrated solar power, and solar heating and cooling, but is expanding towards floating PV, solar combined with storage, and hybrid power plants. Although the United States has tremendous potential for exploiting solar resources, there is a scarcity of research that details the U.S. solar energy scenario. This paper provides a comprehensive review of solar energy in the U.S., highlighting the drivers of the solar industry in terms of technology, financial incentives, and strategies to overcome challenges. It also discusses the prospects of the future solar market based on extensive background research and the latest statistics. In addition, the paper categorizes the U.S. states into five tiers based on their solar prospects calculated using analytical hierarchy process and regression analysis. The price of solar technologies in the U.S. is also predicted up to 2031 using Wright’s law, which projected a 77% reduction in the next decade.

Suggested Citation

  • Sanzana Tabassum & Tanvin Rahman & Ashraf Ul Islam & Sumayya Rahman & Debopriya Roy Dipta & Shidhartho Roy & Naeem Mohammad & Nafiu Nawar & Eklas Hossain, 2021. "Solar Energy in the United States: Development, Challenges and Future Prospects," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(23), pages 1-65, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jeners:v:14:y:2021:i:23:p:8142-:d:695303
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/14/23/8142/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/14/23/8142/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Jinyue Yan & Ying Yang & Pietro Elia Campana & Jijiang He, 2019. "City-level analysis of subsidy-free solar photovoltaic electricity price, profits and grid parity in China," Nature Energy, Nature, vol. 4(8), pages 709-717, August.
    2. Veena, P. & Indragandhi, V. & Jeyabharath, R. & Subramaniyaswamy, V., 2014. "Review of grid integration schemes for renewable power generation system," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 34(C), pages 628-641.
    3. Arthur van Benthem & Kenneth Gillingham & James Sweeney, 2008. "Learning-by-Doing and the Optimal Solar Policy in California," The Energy Journal, International Association for Energy Economics, vol. 0(Number 3), pages 131-152.
    4. Solangi, K.H. & Islam, M.R. & Saidur, R. & Rahim, N.A. & Fayaz, H., 2011. "A review on global solar energy policy," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 15(4), pages 2149-2163, May.
    5. Parrado, C. & Girard, A. & Simon, F. & Fuentealba, E., 2016. "2050 LCOE (Levelized Cost of Energy) projection for a hybrid PV (photovoltaic)-CSP (concentrated solar power) plant in the Atacama Desert, Chile," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 94(C), pages 422-430.
    6. Sengupta, Manajit & Xie, Yu & Lopez, Anthony & Habte, Aron & Maclaurin, Galen & Shelby, James, 2018. "The National Solar Radiation Data Base (NSRDB)," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 89(C), pages 51-60.
    7. Gao, Xuerui & Liu, Jiahong & Zhang, Jun & Yan, Jinyue & Bao, Shujun & Xu, He & Qin, Tao, 2013. "Feasibility evaluation of solar photovoltaic pumping irrigation system based on analysis of dynamic variation of groundwater table," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 105(C), pages 182-193.
    8. Beluco, Alexandre & Kroeff de Souza, Paulo & Krenzinger, Arno, 2012. "A method to evaluate the effect of complementarity in time between hydro and solar energy on the performance of hybrid hydro PV generating plants," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 45(C), pages 24-30.
    9. Bahadori, Alireza & Nwaoha, Chikezie, 2013. "A review on solar energy utilisation in Australia," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 18(C), pages 1-5.
    10. Bukhary, Saria & Ahmad, Sajjad & Batista, Jacimaria, 2018. "Analyzing land and water requirements for solar deployment in the Southwestern United States," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 82(P3), pages 3288-3305.
    11. Lee, Nathan & Grunwald, Ursula & Rosenlieb, Evan & Mirletz, Heather & Aznar, Alexandra & Spencer, Robert & Cox, Sadie, 2020. "Hybrid floating solar photovoltaics-hydropower systems: Benefits and global assessment of technical potential," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 162(C), pages 1415-1427.
    12. Nema, Pragya & Nema, R.K. & Rangnekar, Saroj, 2009. "A current and future state of art development of hybrid energy system using wind and PV-solar: A review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 13(8), pages 2096-2103, October.
    13. Turney, Damon & Fthenakis, Vasilis, 2011. "Environmental impacts from the installation and operation of large-scale solar power plants," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 15(6), pages 3261-3270, August.
    14. Li, Chennan & Goswami, Yogi & Stefanakos, Elias, 2013. "Solar assisted sea water desalination: A review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 19(C), pages 136-163.
    15. Mekhilef, S. & Faramarzi, S.Z. & Saidur, R. & Salam, Zainal, 2013. "The application of solar technologies for sustainable development of agricultural sector," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 18(C), pages 583-594.
    16. Bhandari, Khagendra P. & Collier, Jennifer M. & Ellingson, Randy J. & Apul, Defne S., 2015. "Energy payback time (EPBT) and energy return on energy invested (EROI) of solar photovoltaic systems: A systematic review and meta-analysis," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 47(C), pages 133-141.
    17. Thornton, Alexander & Monroy, Carlos Rodríguez, 2011. "Distributed power generation in the United States," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 15(9), pages 4809-4817.
    18. Moosavian, S.M. & Rahim, N.A. & Selvaraj, J. & Solangi, K.H., 2013. "Energy policy to promote photovoltaic generation," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 25(C), pages 44-58.
    19. Desideri, Umberto & Campana, Pietro Elia, 2014. "Analysis and comparison between a concentrating solar and a photovoltaic power plant," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 113(C), pages 422-433.
    20. Joeri Rogelj & Michel den Elzen & Niklas Höhne & Taryn Fransen & Hanna Fekete & Harald Winkler & Roberto Schaeffer & Fu Sha & Keywan Riahi & Malte Meinshausen, 2016. "Paris Agreement climate proposals need a boost to keep warming well below 2 °C," Nature, Nature, vol. 534(7609), pages 631-639, June.
    21. Majumdar, Debaleena & Pasqualetti, Martin J., 2019. "Analysis of land availability for utility-scale power plants and assessment of solar photovoltaic development in the state of Arizona, USA," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 134(C), pages 1213-1231.
    22. Denholm, Paul & Margolis, Robert M., 2008. "Land-use requirements and the per-capita solar footprint for photovoltaic generation in the United States," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 36(9), pages 3531-3543, September.
    23. Ehsanul Kabir & Ki-Hyun Kim & Jan E. Szulejko, 2017. "Social Impacts of Solar Home Systems in Rural Areas: A Case Study in Bangladesh," Energies, MDPI, vol. 10(10), pages 1-12, October.
    24. Chow, T.T., 2010. "A review on photovoltaic/thermal hybrid solar technology," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 87(2), pages 365-379, February.
    25. Wu, Jing & Botterud, Audun & Mills, Andrew & Zhou, Zhi & Hodge, Bri-Mathias & Heaney, Mike, 2015. "Integrating solar PV (photovoltaics) in utility system operations: Analytical framework and Arizona case study," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 85(C), pages 1-9.
    26. Martins, F.R. & Rüther, R. & Pereira, E.B. & Abreu, S.L., 2008. "Solar energy scenarios in Brazil. Part two: Photovoltaics applications," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 36(8), pages 2855-2867, August.
    27. Jacqueline Hettel Tidwell & Abraham Tidwell & Steffan Nelson, 2018. "Surveying the Solar Power Gap: Assessing the Spatial Distribution of Emerging Photovoltaic Solar Adoption in the State of Georgia, U.S.A," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(11), pages 1-16, November.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Wenwei Lian & Bingyan Wang & Tianming Gao & Xiaoyan Sun & Yan Zhang & Hongmei Duan, 2022. "Coordinated Development of Renewable Energy: Empirical Evidence from China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(18), pages 1-20, September.
    2. Sergii Mamykin & Roni Z. Shneck & Bohdan Dzundza & Feng Gao & Zinovi Dashevsky, 2023. "A Novel Solar System of Electricity and Heat," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(7), pages 1-11, March.
    3. Fan, Zhi-Ping & Cai, Siqin & Guo, Dongliang & Xu, Bo, 2022. "Facing the uncertainty of renewable energy production: Production decisions of a power plant with different risk attitudes," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 199(C), pages 1237-1247.
    4. José M. Cardemil & Ignacio Calderón-Vásquez & Alan Pino & Allan Starke & Ian Wolde & Carlos Felbol & Leonardo F. L. Lemos & Vinicius Bonini & Ignacio Arias & Javier Iñigo-Labairu & Jürgen Dersch & Rod, 2022. "Assessing the Uncertainties of Simulation Approaches for Solar Thermal Systems Coupled to Industrial Processes," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(9), pages 1-29, May.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Pandey, A.K. & Tyagi, V.V. & Selvaraj, Jeyraj A/L & Rahim, N.A. & Tyagi, S.K., 2016. "Recent advances in solar photovoltaic systems for emerging trends and advanced applications," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 53(C), pages 859-884.
    2. Ferreira, Agmar & Kunh, Sheila S. & Fagnani, Kátia C. & De Souza, Tiago A. & Tonezer, Camila & Dos Santos, Geocris Rodrigues & Coimbra-Araújo, Carlos H., 2018. "Economic overview of the use and production of photovoltaic solar energy in brazil," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 81(P1), pages 181-191.
    3. Aman, M.M. & Solangi, K.H. & Hossain, M.S. & Badarudin, A. & Jasmon, G.B. & Mokhlis, H. & Bakar, A.H.A. & Kazi, S.N, 2015. "A review of Safety, Health and Environmental (SHE) issues of solar energy system," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 41(C), pages 1190-1204.
    4. Jia, Teng & Dai, Yanjun & Wang, Ruzhu, 2018. "Refining energy sources in winemaking industry by using solar energy as alternatives for fossil fuels: A review and perspective," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 88(C), pages 278-296.
    5. Akikur, R.K. & Saidur, R. & Ping, H.W. & Ullah, K.R., 2013. "Comparative study of stand-alone and hybrid solar energy systems suitable for off-grid rural electrification: A review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 27(C), pages 738-752.
    6. Khare, Vikas & Nema, Savita & Baredar, Prashant, 2013. "Status of solar wind renewable energy in India," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 27(C), pages 1-10.
    7. Mamun, Mohammad Abdullah Al & Dargusch, Paul & Wadley, David & Zulkarnain, Noor Azwa & Aziz, Ammar Abdul, 2022. "A review of research on agrivoltaic systems," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 161(C).
    8. Ismail, M.S. & Moghavvemi, M. & Mahlia, T.M.I., 2013. "Energy trends in Palestinian territories of West Bank and Gaza Strip: Possibilities for reducing the reliance on external energy sources," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 28(C), pages 117-129.
    9. Köberle, Alexandre C. & Gernaat, David E.H.J. & van Vuuren, Detlef P., 2015. "Assessing current and future techno-economic potential of concentrated solar power and photovoltaic electricity generation," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 89(C), pages 739-756.
    10. Laura Canale & Anna Rita Di Fazio & Mario Russo & Andrea Frattolillo & Marco Dell’Isola, 2021. "An Overview on Functional Integration of Hybrid Renewable Energy Systems in Multi-Energy Buildings," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(4), pages 1-33, February.
    11. Prasad, Abhnil A. & Taylor, Robert A. & Kay, Merlinde, 2017. "Assessment of solar and wind resource synergy in Australia," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 190(C), pages 354-367.
    12. Fang, Yiping & Wei, Yanqiang, 2013. "Climate change adaptation on the Qinghai–Tibetan Plateau: The importance of solar energy utilization for rural household," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 18(C), pages 508-518.
    13. Prehoda, Emily W. & Pearce, Joshua M., 2017. "Potential lives saved by replacing coal with solar photovoltaic electricity production in the U.S," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 80(C), pages 710-715.
    14. Joshua M. Pearce, 2022. "Agrivoltaics in Ontario Canada: Promise and Policy," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(5), pages 1-20, March.
    15. Teodoro Semeraro & Roberta Aretano & Amilcare Barca & Alessandro Pomes & Cecilia Del Giudice & Elisa Gatto & Marcello Lenucci & Riccardo Buccolieri & Rohinton Emmanuel & Zhi Gao & Alessandra Scognamig, 2020. "A Conceptual Framework to Design Green Infrastructure: Ecosystem Services as an Opportunity for Creating Shared Value in Ground Photovoltaic Systems," Land, MDPI, vol. 9(8), pages 1-28, July.
    16. Amro M Elshurafa & Abdel Rahman Muhsen, 2019. "The Upper Limit of Distributed Solar PV Capacity in Riyadh: A GIS-Assisted Study," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(16), pages 1-20, August.
    17. Ikkurti, Hanumath Prasad & Saha, Suman, 2015. "A comprehensive techno-economic review of microinverters for Building Integrated Photovoltaics (BIPV)," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 47(C), pages 997-1006.
    18. Malagueta, Diego & Szklo, Alexandre & Borba, Bruno Soares Moreira Cesar & Soria, Rafael & Aragão, Raymundo & Schaeffer, Roberto & Dutra, Ricardo, 2013. "Assessing incentive policies for integrating centralized solar power generation in the Brazilian electric power system," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 59(C), pages 198-212.
    19. Jha, Sunil Kr. & Bilalovic, Jasmin & Jha, Anju & Patel, Nilesh & Zhang, Han, 2017. "Renewable energy: Present research and future scope of Artificial Intelligence," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 77(C), pages 297-317.
    20. Pablo Benalcazar & Adam Suski & Jacek Kamiński, 2020. "Optimal Sizing and Scheduling of Hybrid Energy Systems: The Cases of Morona Santiago and the Galapagos Islands," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(15), pages 1-20, August.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jeners:v:14:y:2021:i:23:p:8142-:d:695303. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.