The US installed 4,751 MW of solar PV in 2013, up 41 percent over 2012 and nearly 15 times the amount installed in 2008, according to GTM Research and the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) new report “2013 Year-in-Review US Solar Market Insight.”
Solar was the second largest source of new electricity generating capacity in the US, exceeded only by natural gas. And the cost to install solar fell throughout the year, with average system prices ending the year 15 percent below the mark set at the end of 2012.
Q4 2013 was by far the largest quarter ever for PV installations in the US with 2,106 MW energized, up 60 percent over the next largest quarter (Q4 2012). More solar has been installed in the last 18 months in the US than in the 30 years prior.
The market value of all PV installations completed in 2013 was $13.7 billion. Solar accounted for 29 percent of all new electricity generation capacity in 2013, up from 10 percent in 2012.
