Crystalline silicon with 70% share of US utility-scale solar market

In the US 70% of the utility-scale photovoltaic (PV) power plants installed by end-2016 used crystalline silicon (c-Si) modules, while the share of thin films was 28%.

According to a report by the US Energy Information Administration, over the five years between 2012 and 2016 thin-film solar capacity installations have remained relatively stable, with just a modest increase. In contrast, c-Si module installations have been on a steady rise thanks to falling costs. EIA said that c-Si PV capacity additions were up by 3.8 GW, or 61%, between 2015 and 2016.

California is the US leader in terms of utility-scale solar capacity with 5 GW of c-Si PV and 3.5 GW of thin films in 2016. North Carolina, ranking second, had 2.1 GW of c-Si and 0.3 GW of thin-film solar capacity. Nevada, meanwhile, is the only state in the top 10 with more utility-scale solar parks using thin-film solar than c-Si modules.

The falling prices of c-Si solar over the last several years, especially of imports from Asia, provoked a Section 201 petition in the spring of 2017, in which Suniva Inc called for relief against solar imports from all geographic sources. The US International Trade Commission (ITC) after several months of investigation and hearings proposed measures to protect domestic c-Si PV manufacturers. A decision by President Donald Trump is expected by mid-January.

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