USA: Solar market notches second best quarter ever

Washington/Boston, USA

A new report by GTM Research and the Solar Energy Industries Association forecasts 4.4 gigawatts of solar power facilities to come online in the current year. The largest share of photovoltaic (PV) installations came from the utility sector, with 38 completed projects totaling 452 MW, a jump of 42 percent over last quarter. The residential market experienced a slight hiccup in Q2 2013, breaking its streak of incremental quarterly growth with a flat quarter, and in the non-residential (commercial) market, only 13 out of the 28 states tracked in the report showed quarterly growth. However, the report forecasts a resumption of growth in the second half of 2013, with 4.4 GW of PV expected to come online this year, up from 3.3 GW in 2012, an overall annual growth rate of thirty percent.

California remains the Sunshine State As always, the solar market experienced significant variability across states in Q2 2013. California installations increased 7 percent over Q1 2013 despite the expiration of incentive schemes in some states

Source: IWR Online, 13 Sep 2013