[The Vector] Solar Industry Grows in 2010
On October 13th, the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) and GRM Research released the “U.S. Solar Market Insight” report covering industry action in the first half of 2010. The news is encouraging: the report reveals there is growth in the solar industry despite the struggling capital markets and economy.
“First half solar installations grew beyond expectations as a result of declining prices, continued government support and improving financial conditions,” said Shayle Kann, Managing Director at GTM Research in a press release on October 13th. “In spite of the macroeconomic woes, the U.S. solar industry is on track to have a record year in 2010 for both installations and manufacturing.”
There is a 55% growth in grid installed solar over 2009, with 339 MW grid installed power to date. The PV (photo-voltaic) market is up 69% over 10 years in the U.S., from 3.9 MW in 2000 to 435 MW installed by the end of 2009. The U.S. placed fourth worldwide in 2009 for installed PV power, after Germany, Japan and Italy. The chart below illustrates the growth, courtesy the SEIA report:
The top 20 states in PV all continued to grow, but the two leaders were California and New Jersey, thanks to strong state incentives and government leadership.
The report says that 23,000 PV systems were installed so far in 2010, including an unprecedented 22 utility projects, beating the figure for all of 2009 (28,000 systems). Five states had more than 1,000 systems installed so far in 2010: Arizona, California, Colorado, New Jersey and New York.
In the world of manufacturing & production, 564 MW of module production has occurred so far in 2010, which is three-fourths of the total manufactured in all of 2009. The dominant modules produced were either cadmium telluride or crystalline silicon.
The CSP world has re-emerged, and there is a pipeline of 46 projects and 46 GW of power after a very long silence. Two sites have come online so far this year, one in Arizona and one in Colorado. The chart below illustrates the history and installed power:
Solar water heaters are also on track to grow 9%, thanks to state tax credits and rebates. It is the 6th consecutive year of growth. In addition, the solar pool heating segment is expected to grow by 7% in 2010.
U.S. Solar Market Insight projects market demand to climb through 2015.
Rhone Resch, President of SEIA, was encouraged over the growth of the industry. “However,” he said, “although we are the fastest growing energy source, the fact remains that we are still the smallest. And to change this, we need more than a patchwork of markets scattered around the country. To change this, we as an industry, need national vision.”
