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.