Top Solar Energy Facts and Statistics of 2024 – MarketWatch

More than 1 in 7 U.S. homeowners will have solar panels on their roof by 2030

Residential solar installations grew exponentially in recent years, and SEIA quarterly reports reflect this. Between June and September 2022, for the first time on record, the U.S. installed over 1,500 MW of capacity through home solar systems during a single quarter. According to SEIA forecasts, home solar power will grow by around 6,000 to 7,000 MW per year between 2023 and 2027.

With favorable sunshine conditions, a 5-kilowatt (kW) home solar system can generate over 7,500 kWh per year. If you consider an electricity price of 20 cents per kWh, that’s equivalent to more than $1,500 in power bill savings in one year.

55% of Americans say that they would be willing to purchase solar panels if they could recover the investment in five years

According to a survey by CBS News, 52% to 57% of Americans would install solar panels if companies offered a payback period of five years or less. This is already possible in states with expensive electricity rates, especially if those states also have abundant sunshine and government incentives like in California.

Under less favorable conditions, the payback period for a home solar system may increase to around eight to 10 years. However, high-quality solar panels have a lifespan of over 25 years, which is much longer than the typical payback period.

Homeowners across the U.S. with access to low-interest loans can go solar for little to no upfront cost and use energy bill savings to cover their monthly loan payments.

66% of respondents in our March 2023 solar survey purchased a solar battery with their solar installation, and the industry expects solar batteries to become financially viable soon.

Solar battery storage is an important component of making the transition to 100% renewable energy.

In our March 2023 online survey of 1,000 homeowners who had gone solar, 66% of respondents said they had paired an energy storage system with their solar panels.

We spoke with Brett Adams, a senior solar consultant at 8MSolar, who explained his projections for solar accessories in the coming months: “Solar batteries are still relatively expensive, but they are growing in popularity and we expect their price to drop by the end of this year [2023] and especially heading into next year and beyond. We expect nearly all solar panel systems being installed to have [battery storage] attached to them over the next two to five years as prices decrease and technology improves.”

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