By 2035, Solar Could Account For 40% Of The US’s Electricity

By 2035, more than 40% of the US’s electricity could come from solar. This will be up by 3% from now. This is possible if the government adopts few policies like tax credits for renewable energy projects. This is in the wake of the government’s step to tackle climate change.

A new First Solar Inc facility in Ohio is expected to create about 500 jobs. This way the energy sector is taking center stage and solar is the main component in it.

To provide electricity through solar to nearly half of the country, the industry needs to grow at three or four times from its current rate, creating up to 1.5 million jobs.

This also supports President Biden’s argument that a transition away from fossil fuels can create millions of good-paying union jobs while tackling climate change. By 2035, he has a target to shift the U.S. power sector away from fossil fuels.

The $1 trillion infrastructure plan approved by the U.S. Senate recently is expected to support solar through investments in modernizing the electricity grid.

But the White House is zeroing in on tax credits and a clean electricity payment program for utilities – which may be included in a separate $3.5 trillion spending package – to supercharge industry growth.

“It really is the clean energy tax credits that are going to be drivers for production and for the manufacturing sector,” Gina McCarthy, White House climate advisor, said in an interview.

Solar projects as of now are eligible for a 26% tax credit that is in the process of being phased out. Biden has pushed for a 10-year extension, as well as new incentives for manufacturing solar components.