What is the ceiling for solar energy in the US?

The North American country installed 14.6GW in 2016, double the amount of solar power as a year earlier.

The US is establishing itself as one of the countries most committed to renewable energy, especially…solarPending any decisions the new administration may make, the fact remains that renewable energy, especially solar, continues to reap benefits.record figuresyear after year.

If in2015We knew that the North American country had promoted7,493 megawattsof solar installations, 2016 closed with an even more impressive figure.

And that’s because, just asGTM Researchand theSolar Energy Industries Association (SEIA)they report in their “U.S. Solar Market Insight“, during2016the world’s leading economy installed14,625 megawattsof photovoltaic solar energy. It did so in more than 370,000 individual installations. Which representsa 95% increaseover the previous year’s record.

A solar revolution in American homes

Thus, the US solar market reached last year42.4 gigawatts installedEnough to supply8.3 million households.

Furthermore, from the point of viewworkThis has meant that, according to 2016 figures,265,000 peoplefocus their activity on this market. As Abigail Ross Hopper, president and CEO of SEIA, recently explained.

This extraordinary year for solar power has made the US home to more than1.3 million installationsof photovoltaic solar energy.

This data helps us understand how the US market has been undergoing a revolution in recent years. A market that a decade ago based its energy production on more traditional generation methods.

Therefore, today we’re going to take a look at this journey, starting from the year 2000, to analyze the data this study offers. And try to discover what the future holds for a sector that has experienced 16 consecutive years of growth.

How has the US market grown?

In the early years of the so-called “solar revolution,” US legislation was far from favorable to the emergence of these types of installations. This is demonstrated by the fact that while European and Asian countries, in particular, were leading this change in theelectricity generationThe US remained stagnant with rather modest figures. It’s worth remembering that these were the years when renewable energy burst onto the market in Spain, France, Italy, South Korea, and Germany, among others. This situation, which persisted until 2010, was the common denominator of a type of electricity generation that the US seemed to resist.

But, as if in a Bob Dylan song, the winds began to shift. A year after the Obama administration took office, a significant boost was given to a new renewable energy policy that states like California were beginning to lead the way in. In just six years, the US went from having minimal solar power generation capacity to, by 2015, becoming one of the countries with the largest installed solar power capacity in the world, surpassing the pioneers who paved the way. Little more than five years was enough for the US to overtake markets like Spain and France, now just behind Italy.

These facilities, for the most part, had a clear client: the so-called “utilities”, which, far above residential destinations, have been the main interested in this boost, which has allowed, among other things, a diversification in the type of energy consumed on American soil.

What is the role of solar energy in new power generation facilities in the US?

The US market has traditionally been associated with hydrocarbon and nuclear power generation, where it has over 100 plants. While this view was accurate until the 2000s, the trend shows that the present, and future, of new energy plants in the US depends on three major partners: wind, solar, and natural gas.

While in 2010 almost a third of new installations were coal-fired plants, only 4% of new electricity generation was solar.U.S. Solar Market Insight“This shows us how this trend has changed in just seven years. The following graph illustrates how solar power has grown exponentially, increasing from 4% in 2010 to 39% in 2016. Today, solar energy represents the largest investment in new electricity generation in the United States. So much so that coal is no longer a viable option, while other renewable energy sources, such as wind power, have remained significant energy investments.”

These figures demonstrate the enormous potential of the US market for all companies specializing in renewable energy installations, especially wind and solar. This explains why some companies have significantly increased their presence in the United States. But how long will this trend continue? We’ll explore that below.

What is the growth ceiling for solar energy?

While the trend has been positive so far, will solar energy continue to grow in the US market? Once again, theU.S. Solar Market Insight“It offers us the answer: a resounding yes. The report gives us a vision of the future, looking six years ahead in which solar energy will continue to grow, although not doubling the figures of the previous year, at a steady pace.

Thus, by 2022, installed solar power is expected to have tripled, leaving the 100 gigawatt installed barrier as a mere anecdote, and stringing together seven consecutive years in which 12 gigawatts per year would have been installed in the worst case, and 18 in the best.

While the utilities market won’t demand 10 gigawatts of installed capacity again until 2021, the residential market appears poised for sustainable year-on-year growth. This presents an opportunity for smaller specialists, offering an alternative to large-scale installations.

With this, the US market becomes an essential component for all industry leaders, who will find a constant source of investment in one of the world’s most influential economies. Now, the only question is whether the forecasts will prove accurate.

Fountain: U.S. Solar Market Insight