At the recently concluded Intersolar North America, New York State Senator Kevin Parker urged industry stakeholders to work together and advocate combating anti-solar lobbying efforts.
Intersolar North America brought key issues of the North American solar market to table, emphasizing the importance of clean energy policies and their implementation for a sustainable future.
Lack of diversification is one of the serious concerns affecting the U.S solar energy market, according to Shayle Kann of GTM Research.
Kann was delivering the presentation on the state and future of the U.S. solar market at the recently held annual Intersolar North America.
According to Kann, annual installation rate in the U.S. is soaring toward 10GW in the next year or two. However, he added, the massive increase in solar penetration has happened in only a handful of states.
While the future of renewable energy in North America looks brighter, there is no much optimism in the solar energy market.
However, states like California give better hopes for the future of clean energy in the region. California, which is currently home to about a third of the energy storage projects in the country, has achieved 5GW solar capacity. The state is set to become the largest storage market in the world.
According to GTM Research analyst, California now accounts for 56 percent of U.S.’ solar energy share. Other key contributing states include Arizona (10 percent), Hawaii (8 percent), New Jersey (5 percent) and Colorado (4 percent). These key states together contributed for 83 percent of the U.S. residential market in Q1 2014.
The market trend in the U.S indicates each sector – be it residential, C&I, or utility – has its own unique and malleable characteristics. In residential segment, third party ownership or the “solar lease” has been the primary growth drivers.
In the utility segment, more than 3GW of contracts have been signed outside the renewable portfolio standard procurement, Kann said.