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SOLAR ENERGY AND CLIMATE CHANGE

A SOLUTION TO REDUCING GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS
Overview Total&U.S.&Greenhouse&Gas&Emissions&
Many!scientists!now!agree!that!climate!change!is! by&Economic&Sector&in&2011&
caused!by!an!increase!of!greenhouse!gas!(ghg)!
Commercial! Agriculture!
emissions!in!the!atmosphere.!The!ghg!emissions!in!the!
and! 8%!
United!States!come!from!a!variety!of!different! Residen8al!
economic!sectors,!with!the!most!prominent!sectors! 11%!
being!the!electric!power!industry!(33%),!followed!by!
transportation!(28%),!then!industry!(20%),!and!
commercial!and!residential!combined!(11%).1!While!
there!may!be!not!be!one!technology!that!can!reduce!all! Electricity!
U.S.!ghg!emissions!to!zero,!solar!technologies!come! 33%!
close.!Solar!energy!is!a!solution!to!climate!change!and!
Industry!
can!significantly!reduce!emissions!in!each!of!these!
20%!
sectors.!

Electric Sector Transporta8on!28%!

More!than!a!third!of!U.S.!ghg!emissions!result!from!the!
burning!of!fossil!fuels!for!electricity!usage!in!buildings!
and!homes.!Both!Concentrating!Solar!Power!(CSP)!and!
Source:!U.S.!EPA!Greenhouse!Gas!Inventory!Report!!
Photovoltaic!(PV)!technologies!produce!clean,!
emissionsKfree!electricity!and!can!feed!this!electricity!
right!back!into!the!U.S.!grid.!Solar!Heating!and!Cooling!
(SHC)!technologies!can!also!be!used!to!displace!the!need!
for!electricity.!As!of!Q1!2013,!the!U.S.!now!has!over!8,500!
MW!of!cumulative!installed!solar!electric!capacity,!
enough!to!power!more!than!1.3!million!average!American!
homes.2!!

Transportation Sector
Electric!vehicles!and!plugKin!hybrids!are!widely!seen!as!
one!of!the!nearKterm!climate!change!solutions!in!the!
transportation!sector,!especially!when!these!vehicles!are!
charged!by!a!station!powered!by!solar!energy.!!
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& Vehicles!are!charged!by!solar!panels.!!

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SEIA | www.seia.org! 2013!
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Industrial Sector
The!U.S.!is!a!highly!industrialized!country,!and!therefore!a!large!
portion! of! our! ghg! emissions! stem! from! the! industrial! sector.!
The! manufacturing! of! common! materials! such! as! aluminum!
and! steel! are! energy! intensive! and! generate! high! levels! of! ghg!
emissions.! One! of! the! main! uses! for! energy! in! the! industrial!
sector! is! for! boiler! fuel,! meaning! that! energy! is! needed! to!
generate! steam! or! heat! water,! which! is! then! transferred! to! a!
boiler! vessel.! ! Another! use! for! energy! is! for! process! heating,!
when! energy! is! directly! used! to! raise! the! temperature! in! a!
manufacturing! process,! such! as! in! drying! paint! in! the!
automobile! industry,! and! cooking! packaged! foods.3! Solar!
energy! can! offset! the! need! for! fossil! fuels! by! generating! highK
temperature!and!mediumKtemperature!heat!from!CSP!and!SHC! SHC!collectors!can!generate!hot!water!used!in!industrial!
technologies.! processes.!Photo!courtesy!of!Sunwater!Solar.!

Commercial and Residential Sectors

The! commercial! sector! includes! buildings! such! as! offices,! malls,! warehouses,! schools,! restaurants,! and! hospitals,!
while!the!residential!sector!consists!of!homes!and!apartments.!Both!commercial!and!residential!buildings!spend!the!
majority!of!the!energy!consumed!on!space!heating,!space!cooling,!and!water!heating.!This!is!a!perfect!application!for!
SHC!technologies,!as!the!SHC!systems!can!provide!about!80%!of!the!energy!used!for!space!heating!and!water!heating!
needs.! Furthermore,! solar! air! conditioning! can! be! used! as! a! clean,! emissionsKfree! solution! to! meet! cooling! needs!
instead!of!using!electricity.!!
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Life-Cycle Assessment
Solar!produces!less!lifeKcycle!ghg!emissions!than!conventional!fossil!fuel!energy!sources.4!While!there!may!be!some!
ghg!emissions!produced!during!the!manufacturing!and!recycling!of!the!solar!system,!the!generation!of!energy!from!
the!solar!system!results!in!zero!ghg!emissions!and!zero!environmental!impact.!!
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Solar&energy&is&a&renewable&resource&available&within&every&geographic&region&of&the&U.S.&with&great&potential&
to&significantly&reduce&our&nation’s&ghg&emissions.&&&
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Established!in!1974,!the!Solar!Energy!Industries!Association®!is!the!national!trade!association!of!the!U.S.!solar!energy!industry.!Through!
advocacy!and!education,!SEIA®!and!its!1,000!member!companies!are!building!a!strong!solar!industry!to!power!America.!As!the!voice!of!
the!industry,!SEIA!works!to!make!solar!a!mainstream!and!significant!energy!source!by!expanding!markets,!removing!market!barriers,!
strengthening!the!industry!and!educating!the!public!on!the!benefits!of!solar!energy.!www.seia.org! ! !
SEIA | www.seia.org! 2013!
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1!U.S.!EPA!Greenhouse!Gas!Inventory!Report.!Accessible!here:!http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/ghgemissions/sources.html!!
2!U.S.!Solar!Market!Insight!Report!Q1!2013!Report.!Accessible!here:!http://www.seia.org/researchKresources/solarKindustryKdata!!
3!http://www.eia.gov/energyexplained/index.cfm?page=us_energy_industry!!
4!http://www.nrel.gov/analysis/sustain_lca_results.html!!

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SEIA | www.seia.org! May 17, 2013!