Solar on the path to mainstream status

March 5, 2014 | By Barbara Vergetis Lundin

The U.S. solar market is going mainstream, according to a new report from GTM Research and the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA), which cites continuing explosive growth and a record-shattering year in 2013.

Click on image to enlarge. Credit: GTM Research/SEIA

In 2013, photovoltaic (PV) installations proliferated increasing 41 percent over 2012 to reach 4,751 MW, according to the research, and 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 percent below the end of 2012.

At the end of 2013 there were more than 440,000 operating solar electric systems in the U.S. totaling more than 12,000 MW of PV and 918 MW of CSP. The U.S. installed 2,106 MW in the fourth quarter alone -- 44 percent of the annual total -- making Q4 2013 the largest quarter in the history of the U.S. market, exceeding the next largest quarter by 60 percent.

"Perhaps more important than the numbers, 2013 offered the U.S. solar market the first real glimpse of its path toward mainstream status," said Shayle Kann, senior vice president at GTM Research, in a statement. "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."

The GTM Research forecast for 2014 looks good with 26 percent growth projected in the U.S. solar market, bringing installations up to nearly 6 GW and the cumulative total just below 20 GW.

For more:
- see this report

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DOE celebrating solar success

http://www.fierceenergy.com/story/solar-path-mainstream-status/2014-03-05