The US solar market grew by 10.6GW in 2017, down 30% from the 15GW added in 2016, according to a new report from the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) and GTM Research.
The main reason for the fall was a drop off in utility-scale projects last year, with over 6.2GW installed in 2017 compared with more than 10.5GW in the previous 12 months.
SEIA said the downturn was expected because 2016 had seen a rush of projects developed before the anticipated expiration of the 30% federal investment tax credit.
Projects were also cancelled or postponed because of uncertainty over US government tariffs on module imports, the report said.
It added that 2GW of utility-scale projects are under construction this year, with over 6.4GW expected to come online in 2018.
The report said the biggest impact of the tariffs are likely to be felt in 2019 and 2020 with projects with module pricing assumptions of below $0.40 a watt at “high risk of cancellation or delay”.
In 2017, new non-residential solar capacity grew 28% to over 2.1GW, while residential PV was down 16% to just under 2.3GW.
Image: Pixabay
Solar ‘slowdown’ hits US
By EBS