The U.S. residential solar segment witnessed record growth in Q3 2013 with 31,000 individual installations.
On December 10, 2013, GTM Research and the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) released a report analyzing U.S. solar market performance across 28 states and the District of Columbia during Q3 2013. According to the report, Q3 2013 represents the second largest quarter for the overall U.S. solar market and the best quarter for residential photovoltaic (PV) installations. California continues to be the state leader in solar PV with 455 MW of new installations in Q3 2013. The report projects additional 2013 installations that could put the U.S. ahead of world leader Germany for the first time in more than 15 years.
The report highlighted that 930 MW of PV were installed in Q3 2013, a 20 percent increase from Q2 2013 and a 35 percent increase from Q3 2012. Solar PV continues to be the major component of the U.S. solar market. The 280 MW Solana project, the world’s largest parabolic trough concentrated solar power (CSP) installation, came online in Q3 2013. Blended average PV system prices dropped by 4.2 percent in Q3 2013 to $3 per Watt. The report attributed much of the solar market growth to favorable legislative and regulatory aspects, including net metering initiatives in California, Arizona, Louisiana, and Idaho and new solar deployment initiatives in Minnesota, Georgia, Massachusetts, and New York State.
U.S. Solar Installations Q1 2010 to Q3 2013 (SEIA)
The utility segment added 52 PV projects equivalent to 539 MW of solar capacity, representing more than 50 percent of new Q3 2013 capacity. The majority of large-scale projects were completed in California. With continued installations, including Abengoa’s Solana, the utility segment is projected to surpass 1 GW of installations in the next quarter, a record growth for an individual market segment.
The residential segment installed 186 MW of PV, representing a 12 percent expansion over Q2 2013. It witnessed the fastest growth with 49 percent increase in annual installations and is projected to show a remarkable 52 percent growth rate by the end of the year. Approximately 31,000 individual residential installations were completed in Q3 2013, contributing to the U.S. cumulative total of 360,000. Twenty states showed quarterly growth in the segment. Notably, California added 99 MW of residential PV in Q3 2013, a 22 percent quarterly increase, and could become the first state to install more than 100 MW residential PV in one quarter.
The non-residential sector witnessed slow growth with only nine of the tracked states showing quarterly increases. Massachusetts showed 62 percent quarterly growth. Non-residential solar installations are projected to resume at a faster pace in 2014.
The report noted that U.S. installations surpassed the 10 GW cumulative benchmark and more than 400,000 projects could be operational by the end of the year. It projected 4.3 GW of new installations in 2013, an increase of 27 percent from last year.
December 11, 2013 via Energy Solutions Forum
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