Cover the Entire USA with Solar Cells?
Would covering the ENTIRE USA with Solar Cells provide enough electricity for US electricity demand?
Total US Energy Consumption = 20.8 trillion kWh
Total Solar PV Energy Produced by Covering ENTIRE USA with Solar Cells:
Lowest Solar Cell Efficiency:
2.3 billion acres x 4,200 kWh/acre = 9.6 trillion kWh
Highest Solar Cell Efficiency:
2.3 billion acres x 12,800 kWh/acre = 29.44 trillion kWh
Calculations:
Total U.S. land area covers nearly 2.3 billion acres.
Generally speaking, a 1-acre solar photovoltaic (PV) array can produce an average of about 4,200 to 12,800 kilowatt-hours (kWh) of energy per year, depending on various factors.
Electricity consumption in the United States was about 3.9 trillion kilowatthours (kWh) in 2021.
Natural Gas consumption in the United States was about 30.3 trillion cubic feet in 2021.
30.3 trillion cubic feet = 31,481,700,000,000,000 Btu
1 kilowatthour = 3,412 Btu
31,481,700,000,000,000 Btu / 3,412 Btu/kWh = 9,226,758,499,413 kWh = 9.2 trillion kWh
Gasoline consumption in the United States was about 135 billion gallons in 2021.
135 billion gallons of gasoline = 16,232,142,852,000,000 Btu
16,232,142,852,000,000 Btu / 3,412 Btu/kWh = 4,757,368,948,417 kWh = 4.7 trillion kWh
Coal consumption in the United States was about 546 million short tons in 2021.
546 million short tones = 10.5 quadrillion Btu.
10,500,000,000,000,000 Btu / 3,412 Btu/kWh =
3,077,373,974,208 kWh = 3.0 trillion kWh
Electricity consumption = 3.9 trillion kWh
Natural Gas consumption = 9.2 trillion kWh
Gasoline consumption = 4.7 trillion kWh
Coal consumption = 3.0 trillion kWh
Total US Energy Consumption = 20.8 trillion kWh
Total Solar PV Energy Produced by Covering ENTIRE USA with Solar Cells:
2.3 billion acres x 4,200 kWh/acre = 9.6 trillion kWh
2.3 billion acres x 12,800 kWh/acre = 29.44 trillion kWh
https://www.skystreamenergy.com/how-much-power-will-1-acre-of-solar-panels-produce/
https://www.eia.gov/energyexplained/electricity/use-of-electricity.php
https://www.ers.usda.gov/topics/farm-economy/land-use-land-value-tenure/major-land-uses/
https://www.statista.com/statistics/184329/energy-consumption-from-natural-gas-in-the-us-from-1995/
https://www.eia.gov/energyexplained/gasoline/use-of-gasoline.php
https://www.eia.gov/energyexplained/coal/use-of-coal.php
https://www.eia.gov/energyexplained/units-and-calculators/energy-conversion-calculators.php