Tag: Solar Power

With extensive leadership experience, Steve Verschoor co-founded GTSP Global in 2006 and has since successfully managed the solar manufacturing company. Steve Verschoor oversees the company’s business development as well as its manufacturing and sales of solar power.

Compared with many other low-carbon technologies, solar electricity offers a distinct advantage in that much of the United States receives plenty of sunlight. Wind, hydropower, and geothermal resources are not equally distributed as there are huge areas where these resources are insufficient or nonexistent.

The Solar Futures Study published by the Energy Department lays out some future paths for the United States grid, including business, and decarbonization, showing a massive shift to low-carbon and carbon-free energy sources. The study finds that decarbonization would necessitate 1,050-1,570 gigawatts of solar power to fulfill 44-45 percent of projected electricity demand in 2050.

One gigawatt of generating power is around 3.1 million solar panels or 364 large-scale wind turbines in comparison. The remainder would come mainly from a mix of various low- or zero-carbon sources, such as nuclear energy, wind, hydropower, biopower, and synthetic fuel-powered combustion turbines.

Steve Verschoor co-founded GTSP Global and serves as the company’s head of sales, with responsibility for securing solar/polysilicon business contracts. Beyond this role, Steve Verschoor is active in the solar industry; he attends solar power conferences and keeps up with federal policy changes that could impact solar power adoption.

In August 2021, the US Department of Energy published a memo stating that solar could supply over 40 percent of US electricity by 2035 if Congress adopts favorable policies like tax credits for industry companies. The memo forms part of President Joe Biden’s push to position solar as an alternative to fossil fuels and an engine for job growth.

Today, solar contributes only 3 percent of the country’s power. According to a study by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, the industry needs to triple or quadruple its growth rate to contribute half of the country’s power. While there are several factors that could help propel this growth, White House Climate Advisor Gina McCarthy singled out tax credits as the real drivers.

Currently, solar projects qualify for a 26 percent tax credit, but this is set to expire soon. President Biden has, however, shown support for a 10-year extension of the credit program.