Solar Industry Sees Continued Growth

The Denver International Airport (DIA) features a 2 MW PV system at sunset. DIA is now host to a second 1.6 MW array system. Courtesy of DIA and NREL
The Solar Energy Industries Association and GTM Research released the U.S. Solar Market Insight: 2011 Year-in-Review on March 14. According to the report, solar photovoltaic (PV) installations grew by 109 percent in 2011, reaching 1,855 megawatts (MW). Total PV capacity in the United States is now 3,954 MW, approximately seven percent of global installations. Much of the growth was due to a 20 percent decline in the cost of PV installation from 2010, which was attributed to lower component costs, greater installation efficiency, improved financing options and a shift toward larger systems.

Developers were also incentivized by the Section 1603 Treasury grant program, which expired on December 31, 2011. (This was a highly effective tool for financing these and other renewable energy installations, as it provided up-front financing rather than a company having to have a tax liability in order to use the incentive.) As of the end of 2011, there were 516 MW of operational concentrating solar power, and another 1,000 MW is under construction. The report projects that more than 2,800 MW of solar PV will be installed in 2012, and will increase at a compound annual growth rate of 30 percent through 2016.

On March 12, the Environmental and Energy Study Institute and the Heinrich Böll Foundation held a briefing called, Solar Power Trends: German and U.S. Perspectives . The guest speakers, Volker Quaschning, PhD, Professor for Renewable Energy, University of Applied Sciences in Berlin (HTW Berlin) and Kathy Weiss, Vice President, Government Relations, First Solar discussed the energy transition occurring in Germany and how that compares with the United States. Not-so-sunny Germany is a world leader in deploying solar power. In 2011 alone, more than 7,500 MW of PV were installed in Germany, compared to the 1,855 MW installed in the United States in the same time period. In Germany, the price of rooftop solar has been falling, and is expected to become cheaper than purchasing power from a utility this year. The German government has a goal of obtaining 80 percent of its power from renewable energy resources by 2050.