An Overview of the US Solar Market. Great market to enter!!!

In 2010, the U.S. installed 887 megawatts (MW) of grid-connected PV, 104% growth over the 435MW installed in 2009. In 2011, a first-half slowdown in major European markets (most notably Italy and Germany) combined with continued strength in the U.S. has already led most PV manufacturers and developers to seek opportunities in the U.S. market with many in the industry expecting the it to be the largest market in the world within a few years.

Leading the way was the U.S. solar photovoltaics (PV) market, which installed 314 megawatts in the second quarter, 69 percent more than the same period last year and 17 percent more than the first quarter of 2011. The U.S. remains poised to install 1,750 megawatts of PV in 2011, double last year's total and enough to power 350,000 homes. "The second quarter data illustrates that the U.S. solar industry continues to be one of the fastest growing in America," said Rhone Resch, president and CEO of SEIA.

Photovoltaics (PV):

 Grid-connected PV installations in Q2 2011 grew 69% over Q2 2010 and 17% over Q1 2011 to reach 314 MW.

 Cumulative grid-connected PV in the U.S. has now reached 2.7 gigawatts (GW).

 For the first time, New Jersey’s non-residential (excluding utility projects) market exceeded California’s, making it the largest non-residential market in the country.

 Six states installed over 10 MW each in Q2 2011 compared to only 3 states in all of 2007.

  A slowdown in global demand led U.S. module production to fall 11% in Q2 from Q1, to 333 MW.

 Weaker-than-expected global demand conditions also led to a price decline in Q2, with wafer and

 Cell prices each dropping 25% and module prices falling 12% on the quarter.

The overall forecast for 2011 has remained relatively unchanged, with an expected near doubling of the U.S. market during a period of continued macroeconomic woes and a slowdown in many major global PV markets. The flatness of the overall forecast masks substantial revisions within both market segments and states. Principally, residential and utility forecasts for 

2011 have been revised downward, while non-residential forecasts have received a boost. This is largely a function of the markets which have shown strength thus far in 2011 – particularly New Jersey, which has become a nonresidential- dominated market. The utility forecast has been revised downward based on updates on a number of projects in development that appear likely to have their commercial operation dates moved back to 2012. Ultimately, the non-residential market is anticipated to exceed the utility market in 2011 and remain the largest market segment in the U.S. However, 2012 will likely be a very different story in which major nonresidential markets (California, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania) see a downturn, while both the residential and utility markets continue to grow. Overall, 2012 is anticipated to be a more difficult year for the U.S. market given declines in a number of major markets and potential Section 1603 Treasury Program expiration.

Annual U.S. grid-connected PV installations doubled in 2010 compared with installations in 2009 to 890 MWDC, raising the cumulative installed grid-connected capacity to 2.15 GWDC (see Figure 1). The capacity of PV systems installed in 2010 was over eight times the capacity of PV installed in 2006. More than 50,000 systems were installed in 2010, a 45% increase over the number installed the year before. In 2010, 262 MWDC were installed on residential buildings, 347 MWDC at non-residential sites and 284 MWDC in the utility sector.