Solar energy is growing in popularity.
In fact, solar power was the third most-used electricity source in the U.S. in 2016.
But it has a cost and a limited range of applications, and some states and cities have been slow to embrace the technology.
The SunPower Association, the trade group for solar power producers and installers, is taking steps to help them.
The association is holding its first annual conference in Las Vegas, where it is hoping to convince the public to get behind the solar power industry.
“The cost of solar power is going up at a rate that is really not sustainable,” says Steve Anderson, executive director of the association.
“Solar power is not a solution for everything.”
A new report from the nonprofit group, the Solar Energy Industries Association, found that solar power costs about half as much as the most cost-effective forms of energy storage, and it has less range of use.
“That’s the thing that we’ve been trying to hammer home with our industry,” Anderson says.
“It’s not about what’s cheap and how much it’s going to cost.”
Solar energy and batteries are still the cheapest options for solar energy.
But batteries have been on the rise, and the association is trying to help make solar power more affordable.
That’s what it’s trying to do with its Solar Power Summit.
The first event will take place March 14-18 at the Hyatt Regency, in Las Vegas.
The group has invited solar power companies to come to the event, so they can demonstrate and explain their technologies and services.
It also wants the public and media to get involved.
“We’re trying to give the public a little bit of an inside look,” Anderson said.
“There’s a lot of energy being wasted in the way that solar is being used.
We want to help the industry to realize that solar energy is not the end all be all.”
Solar Power Alliance’s chief executive, Robert D. Hough, says there’s still a long way to go.
“While we have been successful in the past, we have yet to reach the point where we have a market where solar is viable,” Hough said.
In order to get to that point, he says the association has to focus on making solar energy more affordable and affordable for everyone.
He says the organization is also encouraging states to create incentives to encourage the installation of solar panels in homes.
“If a state can build incentives for solar, then that state will do so,” he said.
This story was provided by TechHive, an independent news site.