2012 Was a Hot Year for U.S. Solar Installations
Posted December 13th, 2012
The solar installation business absolutely sizzled in the U.S. this year – according to a new report from the Solar Energy Industries Association and GTM research, the final numbers on 2012’s solar installations are expected to increase nearly 75% from 2011. What’s powering this tremendous success – and will the outlook remain so bright?
Renewable Mandates
Many states are now requiring utility providers to increase the amount of renewable energy they sell to consumers. In California, for example, electricity retailers recently achieved a 20% goal – which the state mandates will increase to 33% by 2020. Elevated demand in order to meet those goals has resulted in more infrastructure and installations.
Creative Financing
Dramatically lower pricing for solar panels started the installation boom as consumers took advantage of a nearly 50% drop in panel pricing that lowered total installation costs by an enticing 7.5%. In addition, installers got creative – in order to tap buyers who still couldn’t come up with large amounts of cash up front even with the reduced prices, they developed innovative financing plans that allowed the systems to be owned by the installer or another 3rd party. In 2012, nearly 70% of the 2nd quarter installations of solar systems in California, Colorado and Arizona utilized some variation of these “solar leases.”
Dimming the enthusiasm a bit is the continued struggle by the solar manufacturing sector, which is suffering from a 2-year glut of solar panels on the market that has caused wholesale prices to drop by a precipitous 50%, and forced multiple manufacturers into bankruptcy. Installations may also be at risk in 2013 – the recent anti-dumping rule by the U.S. Department of Commerce, combined with the fact that the last remaining federal solar subsidy program is set to expire at the end of this year – has industry experts predicting that solar PV installations could plummet in the near future.
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