In Q3 2017, the U.S. market installed 2,031 MW of solar PV, a 51 percent decrease year-over-year from Q3 2016. Through the end of Q3, installations are tracking 22 percent behind the pace set through the same period during a record-breaking 2016, according to the latest quarterly report »U.S. Solar Market Insight« published by GTM Research and the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA). Through the first three quarters of 2017, 25 percent of all new electric generating capacity brought online in the U.S. has come from solar, ranking second over that period only to natural gas.

The residential PV sector fell 10 percent quarter-over-quarter due to weakness in California and major northeast markets. In contrast, the non-residential sector grew 22 percent year-over-year, primarily driven by regulatory demand pull-in from looming policy deadlines in California and the northeast in addition to the continued build-out of a robust community solar pipeline in Minnesota.

GTM Research forecasts that 11.8 GW of new PV installations will come on-line in 2017, down 22 percent from a record-breaking 2016. »Our forecast has been adjusted downward from 12.4 GW last quarter to reflect continued challenges in the residential market and a push back in utility-scale completion timelines due to uncertainties surrounding the trade case,« says the company. Total installed U.S. PV capacity is expected to more than double over the next five years and by 2022, nearly 15 GW of PV capacity will be installed annually.