NREL Study on U.S. Renewable Energy Technical Potentials: A GIS-Based Analysis
In this study, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) estimates the technical potential of specific renewable electricity generation technologies in the United States based on renewable resource availability and quality, technical system performance, topographic limitations, environmental concerns, and land-use constraints. The report finds that the U.S. has the technical potential to support over 190,000 GW of solar energy, including nearly 155,000 GW of solar photovoltaic capacity and 38,000 GW of concentrating solar power. Solar has the greatest technical potential capacity of all renewables included in the study.