"Solar has become an economic engine for America.
The government can lower costs, while increasing jobs."
Rhone Resch,
Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA)
In 2007, the U.S. solar energy industry saw a glimpse of a gigawatt future. There was significant growth in the commercial and residential photovoltaic (PV) markets and a new utility-scale segment for PV emerged with the fastest growth of all segments representing over 15 percent of the annual U.S. installed PV capacity. The expansion of the solar water heating market continued. Thousands of new jobs were created and billions of dollars were invested.
At year end 2007, the U.S. had just over 3,400 megawatts of installed solar power. This included
- 750 MW of PV,
- 418 MW of utility-scale concentrating solar power, and
- 2,250 MW of solar hot water systems.
Solar energy manufacturing grew 74 percent in 2007, led by expanded capacity of thin-film PV, silicon manufacturing (solar now outpaces the computer chip demand), and other equipment production.
The U.S. ranks fourth in the world for installed solar power. Germany is first, Japan is second, and Spain is third.
Photovoltaic:
- Installed grid-tied solar PV grew more than 48 percent in 2007 compared to 2006. Growth was led by larger projects including the 14 MW solar PV installation at Nellis Air Force Base and large companies and big-box retailers adding solar to fleets of their buildings.
- The U.S. continues to lead the world in the manufacture of both next-generation thin-film technologies and the polysilicon feedstock used in most PV applications.
- U.S. PV manufacturing grew by 74 percent in 2007 and U.S. PV installations grew by 45 percent in 2007 to 150 MW-dc (grid-tied only), both among the fastest growth rates in the world.
Solar thermal:
- The domestic solar water heating market received a significant boost from the federal tax credits.
- The pool-heating market continued steady growth of 8 percent.
- Growth is expected in the solar water heating and utility scale market to accelerate as increasing costs for traditional heating sources such as natural gas make solar alternatives more cost-effective.
Source: www.seia.org