The total U.S. installed solar power capacity increased 17% in 2008 to 8,775 megawatts (MW), according to the annual report release by the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA).
The report highligts a third year of record growth in which 1,265 MW of solar power (all types) were installed. That figures includes 342 MW of solar photovoltaic (PV), 139 MWTh (thermal equivalent) of solar water heating, 762 MWTh of pool heating and an estimated 21 MW of solar space heating and cooling.
"Despite severe economic pressures in the United States, demand for solar energy grew tremendously in 2008," said Rhone Resch, president and CEO of SEIA. "Increasingly, solar energy has proven to be an economic engine for this country, creating thousands of solar jobs, unleashing billions in investment dollars and building new factories from New Hampshire to Michigan to Oregon.”
No new concentrating solar power plants came online in the United States this past year, but projects now in the pipeline add up to more than 6 gigawatts (GW), SEIA said. Among these are projects planned for California’s Mojave Desert, Arizona and Florida. Four gigawatts of solar energy can power up to a million households.
States that led in grid-tied PV installation were California (178.6 MW)[1], New Jersey (22.5 MW), Colorado (21.6 MW), Nevada (13.9) and Hawaii (11.3 MW).
For solar water heating systems, Hawaii led states, installing 37% of the total U.S. systems in 2008, followed by Florida (20%), California (7%), Colorado (5%) and Arizona (5%).
A total of 42 states and the District of Columbia now have net metering rules allowing owners of solar energy systems to sell excess electricity back to the grid. However, these rules differ from state to state and a unified national policy is necessary, SEIA said.
The U.S. solar industry in 2008 increased domestic PV manufacturing capacity by 65% to 685 MW of capacity.
“The growth of solar manufacturing jobs in the U.S. was a breath of fresh air for communities hit hard by the recession. The recently enacted manufacturing tax credit will give further incentive to manufacturers, such as my company Suntech America, to invest in new operations in the U.S.” said Roger Efird, chairman of SEIA and President of Suntech America, Inc. “With the right policies, solar deployment will continue robust growth and thousands of new green-collar jobs in manufacturing will be created in states where jobs are needed most.”
In Related News…
The Solar Energy Research & Education Foundation (SEREF) and Google.org recently unveiled an interactive “solar jobs map” that visually tells the story of how effective federal energy policy will drive a rapid increase in the use of solar energy and create thousands of new green-collar jobs.
Using the dynamic Google Earth mapping software, the Solar Jobs Map gives s a unique look at the anticipated state-by-state job growth generated by the U.S. solar energy industry over the next eight years.
Link to the map below.
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