{"id":5565,"date":"2019-08-17T16:00:20","date_gmt":"2019-08-17T16:00:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ecotality.com\/?p=5565"},"modified":"2021-03-16T12:58:51","modified_gmt":"2021-03-16T12:58:51","slug":"how-many-solar-panels-to-power-the-us","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ecotality.com\/how-many-solar-panels-to-power-the-us\/","title":{"rendered":"How Many Solar Panels Needed to Power the U.S.?"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t<div data-elementor-type=\"wp-post\" data-elementor-id=\"5565\" class=\"elementor elementor-5565\" data-elementor-post-type=\"post\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-158a264 lead-section elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"158a264\" data-element_type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-586e2fe\" data-id=\"586e2fe\" data-element_type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-939279b article-title elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"939279b\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t<h1 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">How Many Solar Panels Would be Needed to Power the U.S.?<\/h1>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-inner-section elementor-element elementor-element-04e9499 toc-and-author-bio-section elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"04e9499\" data-element_type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-50 elementor-inner-column elementor-element elementor-element-786c59d left-column\" data-id=\"786c59d\" data-element_type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-57857a5 table-of-contents elementor-widget elementor-widget-shortcode\" data-id=\"57857a5\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"shortcode.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-shortcode\"><div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_55 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\">Page Contents<\/p>\n<nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/ecotality.com\/how-many-solar-panels-to-power-the-us\/#The-Total-Installed-Capacity-Required\" title=\"The Total Installed Capacity Required\">The Total Installed Capacity Required<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/ecotality.com\/how-many-solar-panels-to-power-the-us\/#Area-and-Costs-Required\" title=\"Area and Costs Required\">Area and Costs Required<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-50 elementor-inner-column elementor-element elementor-element-91e0f77 right-column\" data-id=\"91e0f77\" data-element_type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-938c68a author-bio elementor-widget elementor-widget-shortcode\" data-id=\"938c68a\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"shortcode.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-shortcode\"><script type=\"application\/ld+json\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t{\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t  \"@context\": \"https:\/\/schema.org\/\",\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t  \"@type\": \"Person\",\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t  \"name\": \"Aniket\",\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t  \"url\": \"https:\/\/ecotality.com\/author\/aniket\/\",\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t  \"image\": \"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/324fd7f9d0b3e667f7223919e56f046a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t  \"jobTitle\": \"Author\"  \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/script><p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"author-bio-avatar\" src=\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/324fd7f9d0b3e667f7223919e56f046a?s=50&amp;d=mm&amp;r=g\" alt=\"Aniket\" width=\"50\" height=\"50\" \/><\/p><p class=\"author-bio-text\"><span class=\"written-by-text\">Written by<\/span> <span class=\"job-title\">qualified solar engineer<\/span> <span class=\"author-name\">Aniket<\/span><span class=\"written-by-period\">.<\/span> <span class=\"last-updated-text\">Last updated:<\/span> <time datetime=\"2021-03-16 12:58:51\">March 16, 2021<\/time><\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-4caed31 elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"4caed31\" data-element_type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-b3770e9\" data-id=\"b3770e9\" data-element_type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-5ff3f74 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"5ff3f74\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>About 7.86 billion solar panels would be needed to power the U.S. on solar energy. This is derived from the fact that every year the U. S. consumes around 4000 billion kWh of electricity. This means an astounding consumption of 12,000 kWh per year per capita.<\/p>\n<p>If each one of the 7.5 billion humans on the planet start consuming this amount of energy, all of the oil in the world would last <a href=\"https:\/\/grist.org\/article\/if-everyone-used-as-much-energy-as-americans-wed-run-out-of-oil-in-9-years\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">only nine years<\/a>. In addition to this, <a href=\"https:\/\/ecotality.com\/climate-change-report-how-advantages-of-solar-energy-help\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">climate change data<\/a> repeatedly points to a probable 2\u00b0C rise in average temperatures in this century, bringing catastrophes like never before. These are reasons enough to wonder how the entire U.S. can become solar powered. Let\u2019s find out how.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"The-Total-Installed-Capacity-Required\"><\/span>The Total Installed Capacity Required<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>If we were to think of the <a href=\"https:\/\/ecotality.com\/how-many-solar-panels-to-power-the-world\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">solar panels needed to power the entire world<\/a>, a significantly large portion of that would be needed for the U.S. alone. Currently, the existing infrastructure in the nation churns out over 4000 billion kWh every year. That means a daily average of almost 11 billion kWh.<\/p>\n<p>Dividing the above number by the number of hours of energy consumption would give us hourly energy data, or simply the power consumption (kilowatt-hours \u00f7 hours = kilowatts). Now, unlike conventional power generation sources, solar cannot operate 24 hours a day. This is why the hourly consumption and hourly generation numbers for solar power cannot be the same.<\/p>\n<p>For example, if one needs 24 kWh per day, his hourly average consumption would be 1 kW, but a 1 kW solar plant would not generate energy for 24 hours. This is due to the day-night cycles. Owing to this, the number of hours of peak sunshine at any location matters.<\/p>\n<p>In our case, the full sunshine hours in the U.S. vary from 3.5 to 5.5. For our calculation, we will assume a national average or 4. This can, of course, be different based on the latitudes where the majority of the solar plants are located. Going back to our calculation, 4000 billion kWh with a 4-hour full generation every day gives us 11 billion kWh \u00f7 4 hours = 2,750 million kilowatts, or better said 2.5 TW.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-size: 16px;\"><picture><source srcset=\"https:\/\/ecotality.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/diagram-to-show-the-annual-pv-solar-radiation-in-the-United-States.webp 740w,https:\/\/ecotality.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/diagram-to-show-the-annual-pv-solar-radiation-in-the-United-States-300x142.webp 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 740px) 100vw, 740px\" type=\"image\/webp\"><img src=\"https:\/\/ecotality.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/diagram-to-show-the-annual-pv-solar-radiation-in-the-United-States.jpg\" height=\"350\" width=\"740\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ecotality.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/diagram-to-show-the-annual-pv-solar-radiation-in-the-United-States.jpg 740w, https:\/\/ecotality.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/diagram-to-show-the-annual-pv-solar-radiation-in-the-United-States-300x142.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 740px) 100vw, 740px\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-14319 sp-no-webp\" alt=\"Annual PV Solar Radiation in the United States\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\"  > <\/picture><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-size: 20px;\">Annual PV Solar Radiation in the United States (Source \u2013 NREL)<\/span><\/p>\n<p>The current standard size of panels used in a large sized solar plant is easily over 350W. Assuming this power rating, we would need to divide 2.75 TW by 350W, which gives us the gigantic number of 7.85 billion (7,857,142,857, to be precise) panels required. This number does look intimidating, but with a large number of solar companies in U.S., it can be turned into reality.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Area-and-Costs-Required\"><\/span>Area and Costs Required<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>It is nearly impossible to install all these panels at a single location for more than one reason. We can, however, hope for a cumulative installed capacity crossing the required number (with plants spread throughout various states). A megawatt of solar power plant requires about 5 acres of land. 2.75 TW, or 2,750,000 MW would require 13,750,000 acres.<\/p>\n<p>An important point to note here is that not all the panels have to be installed on vast areas of land. Rooftop solar plants have rapidly gained traction. The number of <a href=\"https:\/\/ecotality.com\/how-many-solar-panels-do-you-need\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">solar panels required to power the average house<\/a>, in almost all cases, would find sufficient roof space on homes in the U.S.<\/p>\n<p>For many decades, high cost remained a serious obstacle in the widespread adoption of solar. In the past few years, costs of solar panels have experienced a nosedive. The <a href=\"https:\/\/ecotality.com\/how-much-do-solar-panels-cost-to-install\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">installation costs<\/a> don\u2019t burn a hole in your wallet, thanks to a well-established industry with considerable competition. Focusing on large scale deployment of solar, costs can be controlled even more by purchasing panels <a href=\"https:\/\/ecotality.com\/which-solar-panels-are-made-in-usa\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">made in the U.S.<\/a><\/p>\n<p>In the end, we cannot afford to ignore the climate story. We need to make sincere efforts towards remarkably large deployment of solar power, starting today.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-1ef4d1c references-section elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"1ef4d1c\" data-element_type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-28e6b7e\" data-id=\"28e6b7e\" data-element_type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-f6946f8 references-heading elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"f6946f8\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t<h4 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">References<\/h4>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-f5c0c65 references elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"f5c0c65\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<ol>\n\t<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.worlddata.info\/america\/usa\/energy-consumption.php\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Energy consumption in the United States<\/a> &#8211; WorldData<\/li>\n\t<li><a href=\"https:\/\/oxfordre.com\/climatescience\/view\/10.1093\/acrefore\/9780190228620.001.0001\/acrefore-9780190228620-e-15\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">The two Degrees Celsius Limit<\/a> &#8211; Oxfordre<\/li>\n\t<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nrel.gov\/docs\/fy19osti\/72170.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">2017 Renewable Energy Data Book<\/a> &#8211; Department of Energy<\/li>\n<\/ol>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-22addeea post-rating-section elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"22addeea\" data-element_type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-15f95c4f\" data-id=\"15f95c4f\" data-element_type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-da66c4c post-rating elementor-widget elementor-widget-shortcode\" data-id=\"da66c4c\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"shortcode.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-shortcode\"><!-- Rate my Post Plugin --><div  class=\"rmp-widgets-container rmp-wp-plugin rmp-main-container js-rmp-widgets-container js-rmp-widgets-container--5565 \"  data-post-id=\"5565\">    <!-- Rating widget -->  <div class=\"rmp-rating-widget js-rmp-rating-widget\">          <p class=\"rmp-heading rmp-heading--title\">        We hope you liked this article. 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Be the first to rate this post.    <\/p>    <p class=\"rmp-rating-widget__msg js-rmp-msg\"><\/p>  <\/div>  <!--Structured data -->  <script type=\"application\/ld+json\">{  \"@context\": \"http:\/\/schema.org\",  \"@type\": \"Product\",  \"aggregateRating\": {    \"@type\": \"AggregateRating\",    \"bestRating\": \"5\",    \"ratingCount\": \"34\",    \"ratingValue\": \"3.8\"  },  \"image\": \"https:\/\/ecotality.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/large-solar-farm-in-california-e1590592543815.jpg\",  \"name\": \"How Many Solar Panels Needed to Power the U.S.?\",  \"description\": \"How Many Solar Panels Needed to Power the U.S.?\"}<\/script>      <\/div><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>How Many Solar Panels Would be Needed to Power the U.S.? About 7.86 billion solar panels would be needed to power the U.S. on solar energy. This is derived from the fact that every year the U. S. consumes around 4000 billion kWh of electricity. This means an astounding consumption of 12,000 kWh per year &hellip;<\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more\"> <a class=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/ecotality.com\/how-many-solar-panels-to-power-the-us\/\"> <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">How Many Solar Panels Needed to Power the U.S.?<\/span> Read More &raquo;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":5605,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"right-sidebar","site-content-layout":"plain-container","ast-site-content-layout":"","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"disabled","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"default","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"default","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"","_glsr_average":0,"_glsr_ranking":0,"_glsr_reviews":0},"categories":[25],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v20.7 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>How Many Solar Panels Needed to Power the U.S.? - ecotality.com<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/ecotality.com\/how-many-solar-panels-to-power-the-us\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How Many Solar Panels Needed to Power the U.S.? - ecotality.com\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"How Many Solar Panels Would be Needed to Power the U.S.? About 7.86 billion solar panels would be needed to power the U.S. on solar energy. This is derived from the fact that every year the U. S. consumes around 4000 billion kWh of electricity. This means an astounding consumption of 12,000 kWh per year &hellip; How Many Solar Panels Needed to Power the U.S.? 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