In the second quarter of 2017 the USA added about 2,387 MW of new PV power. »This tops Q1’s total and represents an 8 percent year-over-year gain,« according to the latest »US Solar Market Insight Report« published by GTM Research and the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA). The USA installed 2,044 MW of capacity in Q1.

All three US solar market segments – commercial, residential and utility-scale – experienced quarter-over-quarter growth in Q2. The non-residential market grew by 31 percent year-over-year, with 437 MW installed capacity. That was driven in large part by California, expiring incentives in Massachusetts, and a record-breaking quarter in New York, where a number of remote, net metered projects were completed, says SEIA.

Texas, which is projected to be the second largest state solar market over the next five years, had its strongest quarter ever, adding 378 MW in Q2, placing it 2nd among states this quarter. The utility-scale segment represented 58 percent of the PV capacity installed in the quarter, adding more than one gigawatt. According to the report, 563 MW of residential solar PV was installed in Q2 2017. While this is a slight uptick by 1 percent over the first quarter, it represents a 17 percent decline year-over-year.

Through the first half of 2017, 22 percent of all new electric capacity brought online in the USA has come from solar, ranking second over that time period to natural gas. »This report shows once again that solar is on the rise and will continue to add to its share of electricity generation,« said Abigail Ross Hopper, SEIA’s president and CEO. »Last year, solar companies added jobs 17 times faster than the rest of the economy and increased our GDP by billions of dollars.«

The report forecast that the solar industry will add 12.4 GW of new capacity this year, down slightly from GTM Research’s previous forecast of 12.6 GW. The consultancy did not change its forecast that the American solar industry would triple cumulative capacity over the next five years. By 2022, 31 states will have more than 100 MW annual solar markets – with 25 states being home to more than 1 GW of capacity – and more than 16 GW of solar PV capacity will be installed annually.