Sun shines on US solar sector

|
US Solar installations by quarter through 2013. Image: SEIA / GTM.
US Solar installations by quarter through 2013. Image: SEIA / GTM.
The US Solar sector boomed in 2013, with a record breaking volume of new solar capacity added - almost 5,000MW. And as John Rogers reports, the party is set to carry on through 2014.
The US has installed more solar in the last 18 months than in the previous 30 years combined.

The latest solar numbers have just come in, and the celebration continues.

The latest industry report shows another 4,751 megawatts (MW) went in during 2013, with great progress for both photovoltaics (PV) and concentrating solar power (CSP).

Solar in the US now generates enough to power over 2 million average households.

The figures are from the just-released SEIA/GTM Solar Market Insight 2013 report, a treasure trove of data and, well, insights (including a factsheet and an infographic). The tip of the 2013 solar info iceberg:

Top stats

  • Installations in 2013 were 41% higher than installations during 2012, itself a record-breaking year.
  • The US has installed more solar in the last 18 months than in the previous 30 years combined.
  • Q4 2013 was by far the best quarter ever.
  • New installations increased US CSP capacity by 80%, to 918 MW.
  • Costs keep dropping: average PV system prices fell another 15% in 2013.


Top states

  • California led the nation again, accounting for more than half of the new capacity.
  • But the numbers have lots to say about lots of states, including North Carolina, which grew 171%, and Georgia, which grew a pack-leading 762%.
  • For utility PV installations, three states - Arizona, California, and North Carolina - accounted for 87%.
  • Six states got 100% of their new generating capacity from solar; nationwide, solar was behind only natural gas for capacity additions.

And more growth is clearly coming. The CSP figures above don't count the largest solar plant in the world, which went online in California last month.

And the report predicts 2014 solar installations of almost 6,000 MW, with growth fastest in the residential sector.

Blue skies are here, and ahead.

 

 

John Rogers is a senior energy analyst with expertise in renewable energy and energy efficiency technologies and policies. He co-manages the Energy and Water in a Warming World Initiative (EW3) at UCS. See John's full bio.

This article was originally published by the Union of Concerned Scientists.

Donate to The Ecologist and support high impact environmental journalism and analysis.

  • Dykes Lumber’s rooftop solar installation in Long Island City near the Queensboro Bridge. Photo: Steve Burns, EnterSolar.

    Tenfold solar expansion approved for New York state

    The Ecologist
     |
    New York has approved a major expansion of the state's 'NY-Sun' initiative - a program that is boosting solar power across the state. The program has been extended through 2023 and aims to deliver a tenfold increase in the clean energy source.
  • Solar PV hard at work on a hotel roof in Hawaii. The state has resisted proposals for heavy charges for solar connections to the power grid. Photo: ShellVacationsHospitality via Flickr.com.

    America's corporate revolt against clean energy

    Trip Van Noppen
     |
    The US's fossil fuel industry is scared at the growth of solar power, and its ever-declining market cost. So it's fighting back, reports Trip Van Noppen, doing its best to quash solar growth by imposing new costs and restrictions.
  • While Trump tries to extend the wall across the US-Mexico frontier, seen here at Nogales, Mexico could build a solar farm along the border, generating 2GW of power, and attracting technology, investment and jobs from the North. Photo: Jonathan McIntosh vi

    Mexico's expiring oil and Trump's wall: the future is solar

    Jeremy Leggett
     |
    Mexico's oil looks set to run out within a decade, writes Jeremy Leggett, and it can hardly rely on Trump's America to make up the difference. But Mexico enjoys abundant sunshine, and the cost of solar power generation is falling fast. Let Trump tie America's economy to debt-financed fossil fuels. Mexico's future prosperity will come from harnessing its inexhaustible solar riches.