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PCCA Journal|4

th

Quarter 2014

16

Power News

Continued from page 15

T

he United States’ solar

market hit a major milestone

in the second quarter of this

year, with more than half a

million homes and businesses now gen-

erating solar energy. According to GTM

Research and the Solar Energy Industries

Association’s (SEIA) Q2 2014 U.S. Solar

Market Insight Report, the U.S. installed

1,133 megawatts (MW) of solar photo-

voltaics (PV) in the second quarter of

this year.

The residential and commercial seg-

ments accounted for nearly half of all

solar PV installations in the quarter.

The residential market has seen the

most consistent growth of any segment

for years, and its momentum shows no

signs of slowing down.

Across the United States, cumula-

tive PV and concentrating solar power

operating capacity has eclipsed 15.9

gigawatts (GW), enough to power more

than 3.2 million homes.

“Solar continues to soar, providing

more and more homes, businesses,

schools, and government entities across

the United States with clean, reliable,

and affordable electricity,” said SEIA

President and CEO Rhone Resch. “Today,

the solar industry employs 143,000

Americans and pumps nearly $15 billion

a year into our economy.”

Showing continued strength, the

utility PV segment made up 55 percent

of U.S. solar installations in the second

quarter of the year. It has accounted for

more than half of national PV instal-

lations for the fifth straight quarter. In

just two years, the utility segment has

quadrupled its cumulative size, growing

from 1,784 MW in the first half of 2012

to 7,308 MW today.

“Solar continues to be a primary

source of new electric generation capac-

ity in the U.S.,” said GTM Research Se-

nior Vice President Shayle Kann. “With

new sources of capital being unlocked,

design and engineering innovations re-

ducing system prices, and sales channels

rapidly diversifying, the solar market is

quickly gaining steam to drive significant

growth for the next few years.”

GTM Research and SEIA forecast 6.5

GW of PV will be installed in the United

States by the end of this year, up 36

percent over 2013.

Key findings:

• The U.S. installed 1,133 MW of solar

PV in Q2 2014, up 21 percent over

Q2 2013, making it the fourth-largest

quarter for solar installations in the

history of the market.

• Cumulative operating PV capacity has

now eclipsed the 15 GW mark thanks

to three consecutive quarters of more

than 1 GW installed.

• As of the first half of 2014, more than

half a million homeowners and com-

mercial customers have installed solar

PV.

• For the first time ever, more than 100

MW of residential PV came online

without any state incentive.

• 53 percent of new electric generating

capacity in the U.S. in the first half of

2014 came from solar.

• Growth remains driven primarily by

the utility solar PV market, which

installed 625 MW in Q2 2014, up from

543 MW in Q2 2013.

• The report forecasts that PV installa-

tions will reach 6.5 GW in 2014, up 36

percent over 2013 and more than three

times the market size just three years

ago.

Report: U.S. Solar Industry

Nearing 16 GW of Installed Capacity

increasingly proactive in terms of the targets they are setting

for their utilities to shift from fossil fuel to renewable energy

and are encouraging local generation on both the residential

and commercial level.”

Support for renewable generation by city authorities places

increased pressure on utilities to deliver an infrastructure

that can integrate these new resources in a manageable way,

according to the white paper. Grid reinforcement is often re-

quired to support the integration of large amounts of renew-

able energy, but this can be offset by the wider use of smart

technologies—smart grids—for both network management

and demand management initiatives, such as automated

demand response.

The white paper, “Smart Cities and the Energy Cloud,”

examines the critical issues facing cities and utilities as they

develop the energy policies needed both today and in the

future. The emerging vision is of smart cities that integrate

large and small-scale energy initiatives ranging from improve-

ments in national infrastructure through citywide energy

efficiency programs to local energy generation.

The full white paper is available for free download at

www.navigantresearch.com/research/smart-cities-and-the-

energy-cloud.