The statistics about solar energy in the US paint an interesting picture. For starters, the solar industry is thriving, and projections for the industry remain positive. Ongoing investment, adoption by households and businesses, and economies of scale in solar production are adding to the growth of the solar industry. Back in 2006, the Solar Investment Tax Credit became law. This has allowed for rapid growth in the solar industry, with estimates ranging as high as 60% compound annual growth (CAG). The investment tax credit was created in 2005, passed in 2006, and extended in 2007.
Further expansions continued in 2008 and 2015. During that time, the number of yearly installed solar capacity increased to just under 8,000. By 2016, utility accounted for the lion’s share of yearly US solar installations, with well over 10,000. Residential accounted for approximately 2,500 yearly installed solar capacity. The other component of solar installations was non-residential. The data is encouraging, since eco-friendly energy sources have grown rapidly in popularity, and they are increasingly being adopted across all 50 US states.
Booming Growth in Solar Energy Industry
The data indicates that these workers are stationed at some 9,000 corporations across all US states. If projections hold true, the number of Americans working in solar will increase to 360K within 4 years (by 2021). The more pertinent question is why solar energy is growing so rapidly. For starters, plunging prices since 2009 have been associated with increasing demand for solar energy. As a case in point, the average solar PV price ($/watt) was around $7,500 in 2009 and it dropped steadily to around $1,800 by 2016. This dramatic slide has been associated with an increase to over 14,000 annual installed solar PV capacity by 2016.
What Can We Learn from the Facts & Figures of the US Solar Energy Market?
It’s interesting to point out that in 2016, approximately every 1.5 minutes there was a new solar energy installation completed in the US. In the 1 year between Q4 2015 and Q4 2016, the price of solar energy plunged by almost 30%. This was driven largely by a steep reduction in the hardware costs of solar energy. If we extrapolate back to 2011, there have been price decreases of 67% in solar energy. Another important point to bear in mind is how important solar energy is as a new energy source in the US. In 2016, solar accounted for 39% of NEC (new electric capacity), with wind at 26%, and natural gas at 29%.
The compound annual growth rate of solar capacity in the last 7 years is 59%. Another fact, and one which takes the cake for solar energy to date is that Q4 2016 was the single biggest growth period in the history of solar energy in the US. As far as solar energy goes, California is the biggest consumer. Other big markets include North Carolina, Arizona, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, and Texas. In the US, it is the utility-scale component that makes up the bulk of installed solar capacity (72% in 2016). According to the data, the solar energy now active at US companies can counter the 11 million metric tons of CO2 emissions per annum.
