Energy Independence is Becoming Solar's Strongest Selling Point

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By Alexis Abramson, Time Magazine. 

Excerpt: Americans are seeking out solar, batteries, and electric vehicles at a pace unlike anything the clean energy movement has seen in fifty years. In the 23 days after the Iran war began and the Strait of Hormuz closed, requests for home solar systems paired with battery storage jumped 21%. Used EV sales reversed course sharply, rising 17% in a single quarter after hitting their lowest point since 2022.  ...Across the U.S. and globally, interest in clean energy is accelerating faster than at any point in history, and not necessarily because of anything the clean energy movement achieved on its own. Understanding why is critical. ...By 2010, after four decades of moral-based advocacy, solar still represented less than 0.1% of U.S. electricity generation. ...over a system's lifetime, today, solar generates electricity at costs comparable to or less than what utilities charge in most parts of the country. ...Gas prices set by an unpredictable war. Blackouts from an aging grid. Energy bills that keep climbing. Rooftop solar, a home battery, an electric vehicle offer something the grid, the gas station, and the utility bill cannot: certainty. They are no longer just products. ...These solutions meet people where they already are—anxious, exhausted, and done feeling exposed—and offer them what they have been missing: stability.... 

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