SOLAR TODAY - July/August 2011

view from the states
State PV Markets

Compiled by Mike Koshmrl, Associate Editor

Guided by a patchwork of evolving, sometimes poradically funded state, utility and local incen- tives, the U.S. solar market is best described in the plural. Several large utilities in Colorado, California and elsewhere abruptly scaled back solar incentive programs during the past six months, leading to layoffs by solar installers and suppliers; at the same time, new incentives launched elsewhere. Thus, the map of grid-tied photovoltaic (PV) capacity (through 2010) reflects not so much the strength of the local solar resources (insolation) as available incentives and state-mandated solar requirements. Next year, as policies shift, it will look dramatically different.

Fortunately, nationwide solar markets were mostly able to overcome policy instability in 2010. New installations doubled over 2009, and cumulative grid-tied PV capacity rose more than 70 percent, to 2. 15 gigawatts (GW). There are now 7 installed watts of PV for every U.S. resident. It seems a pathetic number — equivalent to one-twentieth of a typical rooftop panel per person — until you consider that five years ago the number was around 1 watt. Last year, New Mexico’s solar market grew by 1,700 percent, and nine other states experienced growth rates of over 300 percent. As installation costs continue to plummet and more states come to terms with the need for stable policy, expect the exponential growth rates to continue.

Using statistics from the Interstate Renewable Energy Council (see Larry Sherwood’s “Utility-Scale Installations Lead Growth,” pg. 30), this map illustrates three data points: PV watts per resident, PV installed to date and on-the-year market growth. The map is color-coded for watts-per-resident, perhaps the best measure of state-by-state solar progress. The giants still lead the way — California alone accounts for almost half of U.S. PV capacity, and the next four leaders fill out another quarter — but a number of smaller markets are making good headway. Take a look and see where your state stands.

*Data taken from Interstate Renewable Energy Council’s “U.S. Solar Market trends 2010” report and the U. S. Census Bureau. Capacity figures are in DC megawatts (MW).