Solar Inverter system in America

Photovoltaic (PV) and concentrated solar energy are likely to continue to grow rapidly over the next 30 years--The US National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) predicts that solar energy will provide 45% of the U. S.'s electricity supply by 2050.

But over the next few decades, solar technologies will likely depend more on how they interact with other energy technologies, such as wind and energy storage.Changes in the wider energy system, a new commitment to a fair and sustainable economy, will shape the future of solar energy.

Solar energy on buildings

Solar energy will be integrated with the buildings where we live, work, and play in two main ways: how solar systems are deployed on these buildings, and how these buildings can vary their use and storage of energy to complement solar power.Today, only about 3 percent of all solar roofs in the United States actually have photovoltaic systems installed.Properly operated demand-side services (energy shifting and storage) could reduce the cost of fully de-carbonizing the electric grid by 22% by 2050.

Car-light collaboration

Electric transportation is another important player in the future of solar energy.Solar futures research has found that solar power could power about 14 percent of transport terminal uses by 2050.Solar photovoltaic combines well with electric vehicle (EV) charging: both use DC current, which avoids the loss of efficiency when converted to AC--and in some cases, 26%.Other vehicle-solar synergies include coordinating vehicle charging with solar availability, deploying solar power on parking cloaks and structures, using electric vehicle batteries for secondary storage applications, and even installing solar photovoltaic panels directly on vehicles.