With a new decade upon us, the Solar Energy Industry Association (SEIA) recently announced its vision to make 2020 to 2030 the Solar+ Decade. One of the primary goals of this mission revolves around an ambitious yet achievable goal of greatly increasing the U.S. solar generation and usage.

Currently, solar energy and storage account for 2.4 percent of U.S. electricity generation. But under the Solar+ Decade roadmap, SEIA and industry leaders aim to boost solar energy generation and storage by 20 percent over the next 10 years.

This might seem overly idealistic at first glance, but it’s well within the realm of possibility. Between 2009 and 2019, the U.S. saw installed capacity rise from less than 2 GW and about 100,000 systems up to more than 69 GW and more than 2 million systems. This represents an average annual growth rate of more than 50 percent. As the solar market continues to innovate, mature and grow, the industry’s new monumental goal remains within our reach.

SEIA’s Four Pillars

With the help of 100 leaders from across the solar and solar + storage industry, SEIA identified four key pillars they believe will help reach this visionary goal.

1. Aggressive Collaboration

The solar industry relies on the cooperation between companies and organizations from a wide range of industries and sectors. This includes collaboration between global supply chains, nationwide developers and local installation companies, among other financiers and stakeholders. To find even greater success moving forward, the industry needs to broaden its scope and strengthen bonds with new allies and supporters of solar energy. 

2. Market Accelerators

SEIA identified three main aspects with the most potential to drive solar deployment: energy storage, carbon reduction and the electrification of everything. In addition, cost reductions and new value opportunities should also contribute greatly to market acceleration.

3. Growth Management

Reaching the 20 percent growth rate will require more than just adding solar panels everywhere. To handle the increase in energy production, this plan will also necessitate grid modernization, transmission in the right places and fair interconnection policies.

4. Market Levers and Policy Drivers

Part of the roadmap also includes going beyond the solar market to achieve success. Industry leaders and other stakeholders must also advocate for change in other areas. These include supporting smart climate policy, investment tax credit extensions, state net energy metering laws, building codes and renewable portfolio standards.

How Trina Solar Will Contribute to the Solar+ Decade

More than ever, Trina Solar remains committed to growing the solar market and expanding renewable energy capacity in the U.S. and globally.

As noted in the Solar+ Decade roadmap, business-as-usual will not suffice to meet the

20 percent growth rate. In this respect, Trina Solar is already ahead of the curve of changing the solar business paradigm with its C&I solutions and with TrinaPro, the one-stop smart solar solution for utility-scale projects.

During the past 10 years, the Trina Solar State Key Laboratory of PV Science and Technology set several records for solar cell conversion efficiency. They’ve also launched the bifacial solar cells that increase power generation. Moving forward, the lab’s dedicated R&D team of experts will be hard at work developing new innovations and trying to break even more records.

Contact Trina Solar to find more about what’s in store for the future of solar.