The solar industry remains strong as it was recently announced by the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) that solar installations drove 60 percent of the new electric generating capacity additions in the third quarter of 2016, which is a new record.
What’s more, the SEIA predicts that these numbers are expected to be outdone in the fourth quarter of 2016. Also in the third quarter, California became the first state to add more than 1 GWdc of utility PV in a single quarter.
The information comes as part of the SEIA’s Solar Market Insight Report 2016 Q4. Here are some other key figures from the report:
- Primarily driven by utility PV, the U.S. installed 4,143 MWdc of solar PV in Q3 2016, increasing 99 percent over Q2 2016 and 191 percent over Q3 2015. This marks the largest quarter ever for the U.S. solar industry.
- On average, a new megawatt of solar PV capacity came on-line every 32 minutes in Q3 2016.
- Between Q1 and Q3 2016, solar accounted for 39 percent of all new electric generating capacity brought on-line in the U.S, ranking second only to natural gas as the largest source of new capacity additions.
- Through Q3 2016, the U.S. solar PV market has already surpassed its record total from 2015, driven by 14 states that installed more than 100 MWdc between Q1 and Q3 2016.
- In Q3 2016, community solar added more capacity than the segment installed in all of 2015, playing a key role in supporting the second-largest quarter ever for the non-residential PV market.
- GTM Research forecasts that 14.1 GWdc of new PV installations will come on-line in 2016, up 88 percent over 2015. Utility PV is expected to account for over 70 percent of that new capacity.
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Contact us for a free site visit and solar needs analysis, or simply give us a call with any questions you may have at 916.853.2700.
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