US adds 976 MW of PV capacity in Q2

Sep 3, 2013 - The US installed 976 MW of photovoltaic (PV) capacity in the second quarter of 2013 while full-year PV demand is seen to grow by 17% to 4,220 MW, NPD Solarbuzz projects.

The market research company also guided for 2014 PV demand of 5,300 GW. It expects that thanks to growth in the coming five years the US would reach a 20% share of global demand for solar PV.

Ground-mounted solar systems accounted for 72% of all installations in the second quarter, with 28% left for US residential and commercial rooftops.

NPD Solarbuzz pointed out that California alone added 521 MW in the second quarter of this year, which represents 53% of all PV installed in the US during the three months. According to Solarbuzz vice president Finlay Colville, California’s solar installations for the last 12 months stood at 1,600 MW, while the state will add 1,100 MW more in the second half of 2013. Furthermore, Arizona and North Carolina are expected to install 400 MW in total between July and December, with 500 MW of fresh capacity coming from New Jersey, New Mexico, New York and Texas.

PV module supplier First Solar Inc (NASDAQ:FSLR) maintained a market share of 22% between the third quarter of 2012 and the second quarter of 2013, while SunPower Corp (NASDAQ:SPWR) held 12% of the market. Chinese peers Yingli Green Energy Holding Co Ltd (NYSE:YGE), Trina Solar Ltd (NYSE:TSL), Canadian Solar Inc (NASDAQ:CSIQ) and Suntech Power Holdings Co Ltd (NYSE:STP) met 27% of US PV demand in the period.

According to NPD Solarbuzz there are some 44,000 MW of US PV projects in the pipeline.

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