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Solar Market Insight Report 2017 Q3

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In Q2 2017, the U.S. solar market installed 2,387 megawatts direct current (MWdc), which ranks as the largest second quarter ever for U.S. solar. Utility PV accounted for 58% of Q2 2017 installations, which marks the seventh consecutive quarter that the utility-scale space added more than 1 GWdc.

Key Takeaways:
  • In Q2 2017, the U.S. market installed 2,387 MWdc of solar PV, an 8% increase year-over-year and the largest second quarter ever.
  • Through the first half of 2017, 22% of all new electric generating capacity brought online in the U.S. has come from solar, ranking second over that time-period to natural gas.
  • Suniva’s filing of a Section 201 petition to impose trade remedies on foreign-manufactured cells and modules threatens to significantly reduce PV installations across all segments if accepted in its current form.
  • The residential PV sector grew 1% quarter over quarter. The slow growth rate is caused by relative weakness in the California market and a slowdown in Northeast markets, which are feeling the impact of pull-back from national providers.
  • In contrast to residential PV, the non-residential sector grew 31% year-over-year, primarily driven by regulatory demand pull-in from policy deadlines in California and Massachusetts.
  • Voluntary procurement has emerged as the primary driver of new utility PV procurement, accounting for 59% of new procurement through H1 2017.
  • Installed system prices remain low across all market segments, with fixed-tilt utility-scale systems remaining under the $1/watt barrier for the second consecutive quarter.
  • GTM Research forecasts that 12.4 GWdc of new PV installations will come on-line in 2017, down 17% from a record-breaking 2016.
  • Total installed U.S. solar PV capacity is expected to nearly triple over the next five years. By 2022, over 16 GW of solar PV capacity will be installed annually.