Dive Brief:

• The U.S. solar market added 1,354 megawatts of photovoltaic (PV) solar capacity in Q3 2014, up 41% from Q3 2013, according to the newest GTM Research-Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) U.S. Solar Market Insight report.
• It was the second-biggest quarterly growth for solar PV and fourth consecutive quarter of over 1 gigawatt growth, Greentech Media reports. U.S. cumulative PV capacity is now 16.1 gigawatts. The U.S. concentrating solar power (CSP) capacity is 1.4 gigawatts.
• From January through September 2014, 36% of all new U.S. electricity was sourced from solar. Solar was 29% of new U.S. generation in 2013 and 9.6% in 2012. Total 2014 PV capacity is expected to reach 6.5 gigawatts, up 36% from 2013 and over three times the 2011 total.

Dive Insight:

Q3 2014 was the first quarter in which over 300 megawatts of residential PV came on-line, Greentech Media reported. More than half that new capacity got no state incentive. The main Q3 2014 growth was from utility-scale solar PV, which added 825 megawatts, up from Q3 2013’s 540 megawatts.

Q1 2014 was the biggest quarter for CSP because the 392-megawatt Ivanpah project went online along with 125 megawatts at Genesis Solar. Abengoa’s 250 megawatt Mojave Solar is expected to reach commercial operation in December 2014.

Q3 2014 was the sixth straight quarter that utility-scale PV was over half of total U.S. solar. The residential sector has grown for 18 of the last 19 quarters and will be bigger than non-residential by the end of 2017.

“Solar’s continued impressive growth is due, in large part, to smart and effective public policies,” said SEIA President/CEO Rhone Resch. “By any measure, these policies are paying huge dividends.”