U.S. SUN EVEN BRIGHTER

US Installs Record 723 Megawatts of Solar PV in Q1 2013; New report highlights continued growth of residential solar in U.S. in best Q1 ever.

Nicholas Rinaldi, June 11, 2013 (Greentech Media)

“…[The] U.S. Solar Market Insight: 1st Quarter 2013…finds that the U.S. installed 723 megawatts in Q1 2013, which accounted for over 48 percent of all new electric capacity installed in the U.S. last quarter. Overall, these installations represent the best first quarter of any given year for the industry. In addition, the residential and utility market segments registered first-quarter highs with 164 megawatts and 318 megawatts, respectively…

“…[T]he residential market remains a highlight for U.S. solar with 53 percent year-over-year growth…[and] third-party-owned (TPO) residential systems…[accounted for 67 percent of installations in California and 86 percent in Arizona]…[The] report forecasts 4.4 gigawatts of PV to be installed by the end of 2013, growing to nearly 9.2 gigawatts annually in 2016…CSP is also expected to…[add] more than 900 megawatts of capacity. Combined, the U.S. is expected to add 5.3 gigawatts of solar electric capacity in 2013…”

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“…PV installations totaled 723 megawatts in Q1 2013, up 33 percent over Q1 2012…Cumulative operating PV capacity in the U.S. now stands at 7.9 gigawatts…The residential market grew 53 percent over Q1 2012 and 11 percent over Q4 2012, continuing its streak of consistent incremental quarterly growth…

“…The non-residential market shrank 20 percent on both a quarterly and annual basis, which reflects slow demand across a number of major markets…The utility market more than doubled year-over-year, with 24 utility PV projects completed in Q1 2013…The average residential PV system price fell below $5.00 per watt, while the average non-residential system price fell below $4.00 per watt…”

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