Annual U.S. solar PV installations saw a 30 percent increase in 2014 alone. (Click to enlarge.)
Source: GTM Research/SEIA
If you’re not excited about the promising potential of solar yet, you’re about to be.
According to a new report by GTM Research and the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA), solar is growing faster than all other sources of energy in the United States.
In the report U.S. Solar Market Insight 2014 Year in Review, GTM and SEIA were able to establish that solar is continuing its upward trend in the U.S. with an increase of 30 percent more photovoltaic installations than in 2013.
Not convinced yet? The analysts also paired solar against also forms of energy in their report. When compared to other non-renewable energy sources such as coal and natural gas, it showed equally impressive results.
This from Mother Jones:
Even though solar still accounts for a small share of US electricity generation (less than 1 percent), last year it added nearly as many new megawatts to the grid as natural gas, which is quickly catching up on coal as the country’s primary energy source.
With the growth of solar energy comes many benefits. Solar’s upward trend provides more job opportunities, a growth in progressive policies, and millions of dollars invested by major corporations. Apple alone has already shelled out $850 million in order to turn toward renewable solar energy.
“Without question, the solar Investment Tax Credit (ITC) has helped to fuel our industry’s remarkable growth. Today the U.S. solar industry has more employees than tech giants Google, Apple, Facebook and Twitter combined,” said Rhone Resch, SEIA president and CEO.
There are three primary reasons behind this surge in solar energy. The first is that costs are falling, in large part due to innovations in engineers and scientific research. Here at ECS, we’re getting behind the push toward renewable energy by moving toward open access journals. With the free and open dissemination of important scientific research, innovation could happen at a much faster rate – thus allowing prices to drop even further.
With the lower cost comes an insurgence of large utility companies and small third-party solar installers, who now having the ability to pursue new ways to bring solar customers.
The final reason is that of federal incentives and regulations to support solar, which have increased since the feasibility and access to solar energy has grown.
GTM Research forecasts the U.S. PV market will grow another 31 percent in 2015.
If you’re interested in solar energy, make sure to attend the 227th ECS Meeting in Chicago this May, where we’ll feature prestigious NREL researcher and pioneer in renewable energy John A. Turner in our Plenary Session.
Early-bird registration for this meeting is now open! Take advantage of the great discounts here.
