SEIA: U.S. Solar Market Grows 45% After Two Years of Investment Tax Credits
May 5, 2008 // Published as a news service by IHS
The Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) released its 2007 U.S. Solar Industry Year in Review produced in conjunction with the Prometheus Institute.
The report noted that 254 megawatts (MW) of photovoltaic (PV) and concentrating solar power (CSP) were installed in 2007.
This included 150 MW of grid-tied PV, 40 MW off-grid and 64 MW of CSP. Another estimated 1,000 MW (thermal) were installed as solar hot-water and space heating (100-MW thermal) and pool heating (900-MW thermal).
CSP increased 18% to a total of 419 MW when Nevada Solar One came online in June 2007 - the first utility-scale CSP plant placed in service since the Mohave Desert plant was completed in 1991, said SEIA.
Contracted and announced CSP projects now total four gigawatts (GW), including the world's largest, the 280-MW CSP to be built by Abengoa for Arizona Public Service.
Grid-tied PV increased 45% to a total of 750 MW, led primarily by large commercial retailers that placed solar on the roofs of their buildings, including Wal-Mart, Best Buy, Safeway, Home Depot and Costco.
Also, the largest utility-scale PV system (14 MW) was installed at Nellis Air Force base in Nevada and another 8-MW system was installed for Xcel Energy in Colorado.
States that led in solar PV installation were:
- California (87.1 MW).
- New Jersey (16.4 MW).
- Nevada (14.6 MW).
- Colorado (12.4 MW).
- New York (4.4 MW).
Eight states expanded incentives or requirements for solar energy including New Jersey, Florida, Maryland, New York and Nevada. To date 42 states have net metering rules allowing owners of solar energy systems to sell excess electricity back to the grid, however the program standards vary widely, said SEIA.
The report also highlights growth of the U.S. Solar Energy Market:
- U.S. installed grid-tied PV grew 45% in 2007 from 2006.
- U.S. installed grid-tied PV increased by 12,714 installations in 2007, more than two times the 5,813 installations in 2005.
- Big-box retail stores led the PV installation boom including Wal-Mart, Best Buy, Home Depot and others.
- The U.S. market is fourth in world (after Germany, Japan and Spain); Germany installed eight times as much as the U.S.
- States that expanded their solar energy incentive programs in 2007 were New Jersey, Florida, Maryland, Nevada, North Carolina, Washington and New Mexico.
- Top states for 2007 installed grid-tied PV include California (87.1 MW), New Jersey (16.4 MW), Nevada (14.6), Colorado (12.4 MW) and New York (4.4 MW).
- Four GW (4,000 MW) of utility-scale CSP plants are in the pipeline.
- U.S. PV manufacturing increased 74%, led by thin-film production.
The report links the solar market growth to The Energy Policy Act of 2005 which implemented "the first residential tax credits for solar energy in almost 20 years and significantly expanded the commercial tax credits." Federal investment tax credits for installing both residential and commercial solar energy systems expire Dec. 31, 2008. Several bills in Congress include extensions and, in some cases, improvements to the tax credits, said SEIA.
The full report, 2007 U.S. Solar Industry Year in Review, is available on the SEIA web site.
Source: Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA).