US passes 10GW solar
United States cumulative installed solar photovoltaic power generation capacity has now broken through 10 gigawatts (GW) according to market analysts NPD Solarbuzz, Australia's is about 2.4GW. The US is the fourth country to reach this milestone, after Germany, Italy and China.
During the first half of 2013, more than 1.8GW of new solar PV capacity was added.
Solarbuzz notes that Solar PV has been one of the fastest growing energy sources in the US over the past six years, with a compound annual growth rate of over 50% since 2007. Cumulative solar PV installations are forecast to increase an additional 80% over the next 18 months, surpassing 17 GW by the end of 2014.
According to Solarbuzz, the rapid uptake of solar PV in the US is being driven by the dramatic solar system price declines observed since 2011. Average installed system prices in the US have declined from around $6/watt two years ago to approximately $4.25/watt for residential installations and $3/watt for large utility-scale PV projects today.
Much of the capacity installed has been concentrated in the far west of the US, particularly California, with the mid-west largely underdeveloped.
Regional Distribution of first 10GW installed in the United States
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