Continuing its explosive growth, the U.S. solar industry had a record-shattering year in 2013. According to GTM Research and the Solar Energy Industries Association’s (SEIA) Solar Market Insight Year in Review 2013, photovoltaic installations continued to proliferate, increasing 41% over 2012 to reach 4,751 MW. In addition, 410 MW of concentrating solar power (CSP) came online. Solar was the second-largest source of new electricity generating capacity in the U.S., exceeded only by natural gas. Additionally, the cost to install solar fell throughout the year, ending the year 15% below the mark set at the end of 2012.
At the end of 2013 there were more than 440,000 operating solar electric systems in the U.S. totaling over 12,000 MW of PV and 918 MW of CSP.
The U.S. installed 2,106MW in the fourth quarter alone, 44% of the annual total. This makes Q4 2013 by far the largest quarter in the history of the U.S. market, exceeding the next largest quarter by 60%.
“Perhaps more important than the numbers,” says Shayle Kann, Senior Vice President at GTM Research, “2013 offered the U.S. solar market the first real glimpse of its path toward mainstream status. The combination of rapid customer adoption, grassroots support for solar, improved financing terms, and public market successes displayed clear gains for solar in the eyes of both the general population and the investment community.”
“Today, solar is the fastest-growing source of renewable energy in America, generating enough clean, reliable and affordable electricity to power more than 2.2 million homes – and we’re just beginning to scratch the surface of our industry’s enormous potential,” says SEIA President and CEO Rhone Resch. “Last year alone, solar created tens of thousands of new American jobs and pumped tens of billions of dollars into the U.S. economy. In fact, more solar has been installed in the U.S. in the last 18 months than in the 30 years prior. That’s a remarkable record of achievement.”
California continues to lead the U.S. market and installed more than half of all U.S. solar in 2013. In fact, the state installed more solar last year than the entire United States did in 2011. Despite installing the second-most PV in 2013 with 421MW, Arizona didn’t live up to its 2012 total of 710MW. On the other side of the spectrum, North Carolina, Massachusetts, and Georgia had major growth years, installing a combined 663MW, more than doubling their combined total from the year before. On the whole, the top five states (California, Arizona, North Carolina, Massachusetts, and New Jersey) accounted for 81% of all U.S. PV installations in 2013.
GTM Research and SEIA forecast another strong year in 2014 with 26% growth in the U.S. solar market. This will bring annual installations up to nearly 6GW and the cumulative total will be just shy of the twenty gigawatt milestone.
Report Key Findings:
- The U.S. installed 4,751 MW of solar PV in 2013, up 41% over 2012 and nearly fifteen times the amount installed in 2008.
- There is now a total of 12.1 GW of PV and 918 MW of CSP operating in the U.S
- There were 140,000 individual solar installations in the U.S. in 2013, and a total of over 440,000 systems operating in total today.
- More solar has been installed in the U.S. in the last 18 months than in the 30 years prior.
- The market value of all PV installations completed in 2013 was $13.7 billion.
- Solar accounted for 29% of all new electricity generation capacity in 2013, up from 10% in 2012. This made solar the second-largest source of new generating capacity behind natural gas.
- Weighted average PV system prices fell 15% in 2013, reaching a new low of $2.59/W in the fourth quarter.
- We forecast 26% PV installation growth in 2014, with installations reaching nearly 6 GW. Growth will occur in all segments but will be most rapid in the residential market.
- The U.S. installed 410 MW of concentrating solar (CSP) in 2013, increasing total CSP capacity in the U.S. more than 80%
- The wave of concentrating solar power installations slated for completion at the end of 2013 into 2014 kicked off with the 280 MWac Solana project and the Genesis Solar project’s initial 125 MWac phase. In early 2014, Brightsource’s iconic Ivanpah project also began operating and SolarReserve’s Crescent Dunes project began commissioning.
Statement from Energy Department Officials on Solar Market Insight Year in Review 2013
“It comes as no surprise that the U.S. solar energy industry experienced another year of record growth in 2013,” says Minh Le, Director of the Energy Department’s SunShot Initiative. “Solar technology has extraordinary potential to power our daily lives, from providing electricity to power our homes and charge our cars, to reducing electricity costs for businesses, all while reducing our carbon emissions and creating new homegrown jobs.
“Government has an important role to play here. In fact, more than half of all solar cell efficiency records have been funded in part by the Energy Department (DOE), and 30% of all patents in the solar energy field are linked to patents attributable to the DOE. Today, SunShot actively partners with some of solar’s brightest visionaries on groundbreaking research and development projects, to realize the ideas and innovations that will take the U.S. solar industry to even greater heights. We look forward to seeing what’s next around the bend for solar. ”
“Without the Loan Programs Office, we wouldn’t be seeing this kind of growth in solar energy here in the United States,” said Peter Davidson, Executive Director of DOE’s Loan Programs Office. We helped finance the first large-scale solar projects that got the industry off the ground, put Americans to work, and showed the markets that this technology was ready for prime time. We’re now leading the world in solar power and powering American homes and businesses with clean energy.”
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