US Solar Grows Thirty Percent In 2014

America installed a record 6.2 gigawatts of solar capacity last year, a 30 percent increase over 2013, according to Greentech and SEIA’s annual report. In related news, the solar industry now has more employees than Facebook, Apple, Google and Twitter combined.

Greentech and SEIA’s U.S. Solar Market Insight 2014 Year in Review had more expected good tidings, including for total U.S. installed solar capacity, which nows stands at 20 gigs and rising. Concentrated photovoltaic also got a moment in the sun, posting its largest ever year with 767 megawatts thanks to the completed projects like Ivanpah, Genesis Solar and Mojave Solar.

But there is also some bad news to deliver, from the usual suspects. “Only natural gas constituted a greater share of new generating capacity,” the report reminded. There is also a global perspective worth considering: In the same year, China added 10.6 more gigawatts, handily beating America with 28 total installed. If America is only as green as its toughest competitor, then it needs to power up its game to level up to Asia.

But wet international blankets aside, 2014 remains “the largest year ever in terms of PV installations,” Greentech and SEIA’s executive summary explained, forecasting that installations will sprint past 8 gigawatts next year, which is 59 percent higher than 2014. “Growth will occur in all segments, but will be most rapid in the residential market.”

Leaping over legislative hurdles will be the next test for that exponential residential market, which is heating up even faster now that U.S. solar titans like First Solar, SunPower and SolarCity are launching yieldcos, solar bonds and other incentives for homeowners to solarize. Last year’s supernova growth in the solar sector was, as the report explained, “driven primarily by the utility solar PV market.” But for the first time ever, it added, “more than half a gigawatt of residential solar installations came on-line without any state incentive in 2014.”

If homeowners and investors can avoid or repeal the various solar taxes and tariffs coming their way from what influence the fossil fuel industry has left, then the residential solar market will only more greatly increase in value and power. I want to read that report.

This article appeared at Solar Energy