The second quarter of 2013 saw a 15% increase in PV installations over the first quarter of this year in the USA.
According to a report from the Solar Energy Industries Association and GTM Research, cumulative installed and operating PV capacity in the U.S. now sits at 8.858 gigawatts.
The USA has steamed ahead with utility scale installations; with 38 projects totaling 452 MW completed. The utility scale market grew 42% quarter over quarter and in the pipeline is an additional 4.1 GW capacity.
Home solar power experienced a flat quarter, with some of the issues affecting the residential market for the period included saturation, permit fees and changes to incentives.
While the sector has been comparatively flat, the report highlights that in most mature markets in the USA, third-party-owned residential PV systems are continuing to be an attractive option for many households wishing install solar panels. Colorado is the leading state for third-party owned solar power systems, with 89% market share.
GTM expects the residential market to continue to increase its share over the next few years, while remaining smaller than both commercial and utility scale solar.
It hasn’t been a stellar year so far for commercial solar either, with installations shrinking 11% compared to the same period in 2012.
For the commercial solar market, the growth slowdown has been blamed on regulatory uncertainty issues, interconnection hurdles and the slashing or ending of some state level incentives.
From Q2 2012 to Q2 2013, residential system prices in the USA dropped 11.5% percent, non-residential system prices reduced 14.7% percent year-over-year and utility system prices also declined; from $2.60/W in Q2 2012 to $2.10/W in Q2 2013.
The report estimates 4.4 GW of PV will be installed in total this year, up 30% over 2012.
The full executive summary of Solar Market Insight Report 2013 Q2 can be viewed here.
