U.S. Set To Edge China Out In The Solar Race

As solar energy keeps getting cheaper by the day, countries across the globe are fast adapting to the clean energy source to fulfil all energy needs. Countries like China have stepped up their game by investing significantly in cutting-edge technologies related to solar energy. As a matter of fact, China has also surpassed the United States when it comes to investing in clean energy. This has led to speculation about the future of solar energy in the United States and whether it would lose to China in the solar race.

Short answer: No. The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has announced significant investments committed solely to developing the solar technology in the country. Also, the private sector has seized this opportunity to invest openhandedly in solar projects. Finally, the space witnessed a massive revolution in the last decade even as the U.S. government continues to keep pushing boundaries in the solar space.

U.S. DOE to Fund Development of Solar Technology

On Apr 17, 2018, the U.S. DOE announced that it had reserved as much as $105.5 million for funding approximately 70 projects to enhance solar photovoltaic (PV) as well as concentrating solar thermal power (CSP) technologies. The funding also seeks to start off the process to securely integrate these projects into America’s national electric supply framework.

U.S. Secretary of Energy Rick Perry’s announcement regarding the funding also aims at preparing the US labor force for the future of the solar industry in the country. The funding program has been divided into four segments: About $46 million would be earmarked for about 14 advanced solar systems integration technologies, about $24 million would be spent on 21 CSP R&D projects and approximately $27 million would be kept aside for 28 projects for PV R&D. Finally, $8.5 million would be used to enhance the solar industry by preparing the workforce for the future.

Federal funding has done a world of good to the energy landscape of the United States in the last 10 years. The return on investments from such federal projects has been astonishing. Investments to advance energy efficient technology have led to savings of about $22 billion. That roughly translates to a benefit-to-cost ratio of 66:1. Further, DOE’s continued efforts to reduce emission levels are likely to generate benefits of nearly $111 billion by the end of 2020.

Corporate Ventures in the Pipeline

Declining costs associated to wind and solar power along with grid developments have resulted in many global companies showing interest in the space. Further, conforming to the norm, even U.S.-based solar corporations have planned new ventures for the coming days.

In March 2018, Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) announced the single largest corporate purchase of solar power in the United States by signing an agreement with sPower — a subsidiary of AES Corp. (NYSE:AES) — to add 315 MW of electricity via two solar projects in Virginia.

Further, again in March, NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE) announced an agreement to purchase solar panel from Chinese solar module manufacturer — JinkoSolar Holding (NYSE:JKS) . Over the next four years, JinkoSolar will supply approximately 2,750 MW of high-efficiency solar modules to NextEra Energy. Production of the solar panels will start in the second half of 2018. (Zacks Investment Research

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Written By: Zacks Investment Research