If solar panels covered 1/4 of Utah, those alone would be able to power the entire United States. US consumption is very high, weighing in at 12,000 kWh per year per capita.

So even without reducing consumption at all, we have the technology right now to produce ample clean energy. This is the message. There is hope. #solarpunk #directaction #doyourpart

Sources:
https://ecotality.com/how-many-solar-panels-to-power-the-us/
13750000 acres = 21,484.4 sq mi
https://www.justintools.com/unit-conversion/area.php?k1=acres&k2=square-miles
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Utah 82,144 sq mi

@adam

A real-world case for PV is https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ouarzazate_Solar_Power_Station in Morocco which occupies 2500 hectares with nameplate power of 582 MW, which gives an actual nameplate capability of 23.28 W/m^2 which is ~400x less than the theoretical irradiation.

Another important factor is that the plant uses vast amounts of water - 1.7 million m3 per year or 4.6 liters per kWh - for cleaning the mirrors, which is 23x more than a coal plant.