U.S. SUN DEMAND TO JUMP 20% THIS YEAR

Solar Photovoltaic Demand in the US to Grow by 20% in 2013 to 4.3 Gigawatts…Strong Contributions from Utility-Based Projects and Renewable Portfolio Standards to Drive 2014 US Solar PV Above 5 GW

June 3, 2013 (SolarBuzz)

“Demand for solar photovoltaic (PV) panels in the US is forecast to grow significantly during 2013 and post another record high of 4.3 gigawatts (GW), an increase of almost 20% compared to 2012…Solar PV demand from the US market now contributes over 12% of annual global demand, compared to just 5% three years ago.

“Demand in Q2’13 is forecast to reach 1 GW, with over 70% coming from California, Arizona, New Jersey, and North Carolina. Residential and small commercial rooftop PV installations will account for 18% of this demand, with another 14% from large commercial rooftops. The utility-dominated ground-mount segment will account for the remaining 68% of new PV demand this quarter.”

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“Large utility-based solar PV projects in Arizona, California, New Mexico, and Texas will drive US demand above 2.5 GW during the second half of 2013. Strong year-end contributions will also come from Hawaii, Massachusetts, Nevada, New York, North Carolina, and Ohio. PV demand from the US is forecast to exceed 5 GW in 2014, representing a 70% compound annual growth rate since 2009…

“New solar PV incentive policies and additional utility-scale projects are also starting to diversify PV demand across a greater number of states within the US…Six of the ten fastest-growing US states for solar PV demand in 2013 are located in the South or the Midwest, providing annual growth rates averaging above 180%...[But sustaining the growth] remains heavily dependent on…nine states [which] will account for more than 85% of all US solar PV demand in 2013. As a result, the US solar PV market remains highly vulnerable to any abrupt policy changes in the leading US PV states…”

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