US solar electric capacity, including both photovoltaic and concentrating solar power installations, increased by 37% in 2009, according to the annual industsry report released by the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA).
Despite economic recession, 2009 turned out to be another year of strong growth in the industry driven primarily by strong demand in the residential and utility-scale markets, state and federal policy advances and declining technology prices.
As a result, total solar industry revenue reached $4 billion, a 36% increase over 2008.
The solar industry contributed to the overall economy by adding 17,000 clean energy jobs from coast to coast. The solar industry today employs 46,000 US workers and supports an additional 33,000 jobs in other sectors.
Report highlights for 2009 included:
Growth in added solar electric and solar thermal capacity
- Solar electric capacity growth (including both photovoltaic and concentrating solar power technologies) for 2009 was 37% more than 2008.
- Solar water heating grew by 10% over 2008.
- Solar pool heating growth was 10% less than 2008 growth, reflecting the decline in construction and housing markets.
Capacity by market segment
- Residential grid-tied PV solar installations showed particularly strong growth, doubling from 78 megawatts (MW) to 156MW.
- Non-residential grid-tied PV solar installations grew 2% less than in 2008.
- The utility market saw notable growth, with utilities tripling their rate of grid-tied PV capacity additions from 22 MW to 66 MW. The total utility-scale pipeline (across all solar technologies) reached 17 gigawatts, enough to power 3.4 million homes.
Jobs and Revenue
- The solar industry contributed to the overall economy by adding 17,000 new solar jobs.
- Solar industry today supports 46,000 U.S. jobs and supports an additional 33,000 jobs in other sectors.
- Growth in the industry resulted in a 36% increase in overall revenue, totaling nearly $4 billion.
Manufacturing growth
- Solar manufacturing continued to grow, with a 7 percent increase in PV module production from 2008 to 2009. Internationally, the U.S. ranks behind Europe and Asia in solar manufacturing. There are 58 new solar manufacturing facilities being built in 20 states, including Michigan, Ohio and Pennsylvania.
Capacity by state
- California (220 MW) continued to lead the U.S. in new solar electric capacity in 2009, followed by New Jersey (57 MW), Florida (36 MW), Arizona (23 MW), Colorado (23 MW), Hawaii (14 MW), New York (12 MW), Massachusetts (10 MW), Connecticut (9 MW), and North Carolina (8 MW). Hawaii installed the most solar electric capacity per capita in 2009 (10.4 W per capita). Nevada has the most cumulative solar electric capacity per capita (38 W per capita).
Capacity by nation
- The U.S. (481 MW) ranked fourth in new solar electric capacity in 2009, behind Germany (3,000 MW), Italy (700 MW), and Japan (484 MW). The U.S. (2,108 MW) also ranked in fourth place in cumulative solar electric capacity behind Germany (8,877 MW), Spain (3,595 MW), and Japan (2,628 MW). The U.S. ranked in tenth place in new solar electric capacity per capita (1.6 W per capita) and ninth place in cumulative solar electric capacity per capita (6.9 W per capita).
“Building off the successes of 2009, we expect 2010 to be a breakout year for the U.S. solar industry,” said Rhone Resch, SEIA president and CEO. “The right policies and industry innovation continue to drive solar’s growth across America. Now we’re talking gigawatts of solar, not megawatts.”
First Solar (Nasdaq: FSLR) continued its dominance of US solar manufacturers and developers in 2009, though it may soon have competition from General Electric (NYSE: GE), which has chosen to focus on thin-film solar. And wafer company MEMC Electronics Materials (NYSE: WFR) made a strong move into project development this year with the acquisition of SunEdison.
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