U.S. Solar PV Market Shattered Records in 2013

March 7, 2014—The Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA; Washington, D.C.) and GTM Research (Boston, Mass., U.S.A.) released a new report, Solar Market Insight Year in Review 2013, saying that the U.S. solar photovoltaic (PV) market in 2013 not only turned a corner after a global market slowdown in 2012, it  shattered records. PV installations in the U.S. proliferated with a 41 percent increase in 2013 over 2012, reaching 4,751 MW. Solar was the second largest source of new electricity generation in the U.S. in 2013, after natural gas.
 
In the fourth quarter of 2013 alone, PV installations in the U.S. exceeded 2,100 MW, 44 percent of the annual total and making it the record largest quarter in history, 60 percent larger than the next largest quarter. The cost of solar installation continued to fall during the year, ending 15 percent lower at the end of 2013 than it was at the end of 2012.
 
The report also found that the U.S. PV market is on the path toward mainstream status, with more widespread adoption, support and improved financing terms. And the market is only expected to grow in the next few years.
 
Rhone Resch, SEIA president and CEO, said, “Last year alone, solar created tens of thousands of new American jobs and pumped tens of billions of dollars into the U.S. economy.  In fact, more solar has been installed in the U.S. in the last 18 months than in the 30 years prior.  That’s a remarkable record of achievement.”