The number of solar installations across the United States has surpassed five million, according to data released by the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) and Wood Mackenzie.
Over half of all U.S. solar installations have come online since the start of 2020 and over 25 percent have come online since the Inflation Reduction Act became law 20 months ago.
“Today 7 percent of homes in America have solar, and this number will grow to over 15 percent of U.S. homes by 2030,” said SEIA president and CEO Abigail Ross Hopper.
SEIA forecasts that solar installations in the U.S. will double to 10 million by 2030 and triple to 15 million by 2034.
The residential sector accounts for 97 percent of all solar installations in the U.S.
Today, 11 U.S. states and territories have over 100,000 systems installed.
California leads with 2 million solar installations, but recent policy decisions in the state have harmed the rooftop solar market.
Illinois has more than 87,000 solar systems. Florida has 235,000 solar installations today.
By 2030, 22 states or territories are expected to exceed 100,000 solar installations.
The U.S. now has enough solar installations to cover every residential rooftop in the four corners states of Colorado, Utah, Arizona, and New Mexico.
For the first time, solar accounted for over half of new electricity generation capacity added 2023 and, by 2050, solar is expected to be the largest source of generating capacity on the U.S. grid.
Solar powers more than 263,000 jobs across the United States.
Through 2023, there 36 GW of residential solar installed in the United States.
There is enough solar installed in the United States to power 32.5 million households.
By 2034, U.S. solar capacity is expected to grow to 673 GW, enough to power more than 100 million homes.
Today, 23 states and territories have over 25,000 systems and 11 U.S. states and territories have over 100,000 solar systems installed.
Today, over half of U.S. have over 1 GW of solar installed.
America has enough solar installations to cover every residential rooftop in the 4 corners states: Colorado, Utah, Arizona, New Mexico.
13 percent of residential solar installed in 2023 included energy storage.
The attachment rate of energy storage to new distributed solar projects has tripled since 2018.
By 2028, 26 percent of residential solar installed will include storage, about double the current rate.
America’s solar fleet displaces 198 million metric tons of CO2 every year.
The residential solar market alone displaces 37 million metric tons of CO2 per year.
The annual climate impact of American solar is equivalent to planting 3.3 billion trees, about as many trees as there are in the entire state of Kentucky.
America’s 5 million solar installations reduced the emissions equivalent to 22 billion gallons of gas. That’s enough gas to travel to the sun and back nearly 3,000 times in a traditional ICE vehicle.
The 198 million metric tons of CO2 that displaced by the solar industry is equivalent to closing 53 coal-fired plants, about one quarter of the total coal plants operating in the U.S.
The climate impact of American solar offsets the emissions of 12 million Americans, greater than the population of NYC and LA combined.