The 21,250 sq. miles of solar panels needed to supply the electric power needs of the nation would have to be about twice that size to account for periods of darkness. However, we don't need to replace all of our power plants with solar. 39% of our electric power in the US comes from non-fossil fuels.correct and they do not produce any power at night or on cloudy days.
Cost would be a very significant factor. With a cost of about 300 million dollars a square mile for solar panels installed. 21,250 sq miles would cost about 3.6 trillion dollars and that would be just solar cells installed. Adding in the cost of land and changes power cabling, the total cost would probably be 6 to 7 trillion.
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