East County News Service December 9, 2014 (Washington D.C.)--Installation of solar photovoltaic energy in the United States grew 41 percent last year – with 1,354 megawatts added last year, the Solar Energy Industries Association reports. The U.S. now has a whopping 16.1 gigawatts of photovoltaic, plus another 1.4 gigawatts of concentrating solar power capacity. Those figures are based on the U.S. Solar Market Insight Report provided by the Solar Energy Industries Association and GTM Research. The past year’s 41 percent growth is up from 29 percent in 2013 and 9.6 percent in 2012. Rhone Resch, president of the solar association, says that solar’s continued impressive growth is due in part to “smart and effective public policies, such as the solar Investment Tax Credit, Net Energy Metering and Renewable Portfolio Standards. Resch adds, “By any measurement, these policies are paying huge dividends for America. Every three minutes of every single day, the U.S. solar industry is flipping the switch on another completed solar project, benefitting both our economy and the environment.” The report tracks installations across three market segments: utility-scale, residential and non-residential which includes commercial, government and non-profit installations. |
Historically, the U.S. utility-scale market segment has accounted for the majority of PV installations, and this past quarter continued the trend. The U.S. installed 825 MW of utility-scale projects, up from 540 MW in Q3 2013. This marks the sixth straight quarter in which utility-scale PV has accounted for more than 50 percent of the national total. The U.S. residential market exceeded 300 MW in a quarter for the first time in history. Impressively, more than half of this total came online without any state incentive. Residential continues to be the most reliable market segment, now growing 18 out of the past 19 quarters. GTM Research forecasts it to exceed the non-residential segment in annual installations for the first time in more than a decade. “Residential solar has become a remarkably consistent, growing market” said Shayle Kann, Senior Vice President at GTM Research. “By the end of this year there will be more than 600,000 homes outfitted with solar, and we see no signs of a slowdown next year. By 2017, we expect the residential sector to be the largest in the U.S. solar market.” The non-residential market continues its struggles of late, due in part to incentive depletion in California and Arizona. Installations in the segment were down 3 percent over Q3 2013. However, GTM Research and SEIA do expect year-over-year growth for the non-residential market. The report forecasts the U.S. to install 6.5 GW of PV in 2014, a 36 percent increase over the historic 2013. Key findings from the report:
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