Categories: CleanTech BitesSolar

Graph of the Day: The big boom in solar in world’s biggest energy market

Published by

These two graphs pretty much speak for themselves. They highlight the surge in growth in the solar market in the US – encompassing residential and commercial solar, utility scale solar PV and concentrated solar power.

The graphs come from a recent presentation by the Solar Energy Industry Association in the US.   By the end of 2015, it expects accumulated capacity in the US to reach 28GW. It has another 36GW of utility scale solar in the pipeline, and the residential market, now at just over one million homes, is also expected to surge.

This is represented in the next graph, with utility scale solar leading the way, and residential installations surging ahead of commercial and industrial installations. The SEIA expects 18 per cent growth and a new installation every 2.5 minutes.

In 2014, 36 per cent of all electricity capacity was solar. But by 2016, it will still account for 1.6 per cent of the total generation mix.

Giles Parkinson is founder and editor-in-chief of Renew Economy, and founder and editor of its EV-focused sister site The Driven. He is the co-host of the weekly Energy Insiders Podcast. Giles has been a journalist for more than 40 years and is a former deputy editor of the Australian Financial Review. You can find him on LinkedIn and on Twitter.

Giles Parkinson

Giles Parkinson is founder and editor-in-chief of Renew Economy, and founder and editor of its EV-focused sister site The Driven. He is the co-host of the weekly Energy Insiders Podcast. Giles has been a journalist for more than 40 years and is a former deputy editor of the Australian Financial Review. You can find him on LinkedIn and on Twitter.

Share
Published by

Recent Posts

Big savings, big barriers – getting Australian business off gas | SwitchedOn Australia

From swimming pools to factories, heat pumps are proving their worth, but getting off gas…

30 October 2026

A scan of the Anthropic IPO: How to price the AI worry and the dream

Anthropic's IPO is really a bet on how much better AI will get. But to…

30 October 2026

Corporate buyers for wind and solar output are still rare, but the market is hurtling towards a contracting cliff

It's been a big and transitional year for wind and solar PPAs in Australia, but…

30 October 2026

Fast lane to electric, and Snowy blowouts | Energy Insiders

Bruce Hardy from the Energy Futures Foundation on the fast track to electric transport, and…

29 October 2026

WA renewable energy target sends investors the signal they need – at a critical time

A strong state target for renewables sends the message that WA is a stable market.…

29 October 2026

Ratings system designed to restore trust in wind and solar developers goes live, with first batch scoring well

Online rating tool that ranks renewable energy developers and transmission companies against seven key criteria,…

29 October 2026