Solar photovoltaic installation in the USA topped 25GW last year, with some 7.286GW installed in 2015, according to GTM Research and the Solar Energy Industries Association.
Solar supplied 29.5% of all new electric generating capacity in the USA last year, a year-over-year growth rate of 17%.
Thirteen states installed more than 100MW each in 2015.
The residential solar market grew 66% year-over-year and, for the first time, topped 2GW, representing 29% of the entire US solar market.
The utility-scale sector grew 6% year-over-year and represented more than half of all solar PV installed in 2015.
SEIA president and CEO Rhone Resch said: “Without a doubt, 2015 was a monumental year for the US solar industry, and perhaps what’s most amazing is that we’re only getting started.
“Over the next few years, we’re going to see solar continue to reach unprecedented heights as our nation makes a shift toward a carbon-free source of energy that also serves as an economic and job-creating engine.”
On 9 March, GTM Research and SEIA will release a more detailed study of the US solar market in the US Solar Market Insight 2015 Year-in-Review.
Image: Solar plant in California’s Mojave Desert (NextEra)
