-August 19, 2021 at 6:01 a.m. Pacific Time
In today's Electrek Green Energy Briefing (EGEB):
A new survey released today by San Jose-based SunPower shows that grid failures, power outages and rising electricity bills have prompted many US homeowners to invest in solar and battery storage.
1,500 respondents completed a survey conducted by independent research company Schlesinger Group. The survey included a sample of US homeowners who installed solar energy in their homes, considered using solar energy, and did not consider using solar energy. Here are four main findings:
power failure. Two-fifths of respondents worry about power outages every month, and one-fifth worry about them every week. Among homeowners who experienced power outages last year, more than 50% said their trust in their energy suppliers has been shaken.
Power failure to stimulate action. One-third of people considering the use of solar power listed high-profile blackouts as a key driver. According to data from the Solar Energy Industry Association, 70% of respondents plan to buy battery storage, compared with less than 6% last year. In addition, compared with people who did not experience a power outage, people who experienced a power outage last year are almost four times more likely to buy solar panels and storage devices.
Solar consumers are diversifying. 74% of solar energy users are millennials or Gen Z, and baby boomers represent the majority of people currently considering solar energy. Among those considering the use of solar energy, nearly 75% have an annual income of less than US$100,000, while among those who already own solar energy at home, this proportion is only 34%. Most people who own or are considering using solar energy are mainly in the South and California. The Midwest is closely followed, where 24% of homeowners consider solar energy.
Cost drives decision-making. Reducing energy costs is the number one reason homeowners invest in solar energy, followed closely by the ability to recover during power outages. 79% of people believe that solar energy reference cost is a prohibitive reason. But 60% of respondents overestimated the average cost of purchasing solar energy for home use.
Read more: Finally, a new bill requires a tax credit for integrated solar roofs
The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported that the average construction cost of wind farms in the U.S. dropped from US$1,895 per kilowatt (kW) in 2013 to US$1,391 per kilowatt (kW) in 2019. also:
U.S. onshore wind power capacity increased by 74% from 2013 to 2019, reaching 104 gigawatts (GW), of which 9.6 gigawatts were built in 2019.
Wind power capacity and construction costs vary from region to region. Texas leads the United States in onshore wind power capacity. The average wind power construction cost of the Texas Electric Reliability Council (ERCOT), which manages approximately 90% of the electrical load in Texas, totaled $1,114 per kilowatt in 2019, which is lower than the average level in the United States that year.
In 2019, ERCOT installed more wind power installed capacity than any other power market area in the United States (3.5 GW), and the total installed wind power capacity as of December 2019 was also the highest (26 GW). Favorable market conditions, wholesale prices and geographic advantages help reduce construction costs in ERCOT.
The American wind belt extends along the center of the country and has some of the best conditions for wind power generation.
SPP [Southwest Power Pool] manages the average construction cost of wind power for all or part of the grid in 14 states, including Northwest Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska, at US$1,426 per kilowatt. In the MISO [Midcontinent Independent System Operator], which covers the Midwestern United States and parts of Arkansas, Mississippi, and Louisiana, the average construction cost of wind power in 2019 was US$1,637 per kilowatt.
New Mexico, Kansas, and Colorado are all located in the wind belt, and are among the states with the lowest cost of wind power capacity construction from 2013 to 2019 in the United States.
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Michelle Lewis is the writer and editor of Electrek and the editor of DroneDJ, 9to5Mac and 9to5Google. She lives in St. Petersburg, Florida. She previously worked in companies such as "Fast Company", "Guardian", "Depth News", and "Time". Leave a message for Michelle on Twitter or via michelle@9to5mac.com. Check out her personal blog.
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