Solar power in the US has witnessed a growth of about 95% with more than 14GW of PV modules being installed for 2016.
This is 95% more the amount of solar PVs that were installed in the year 2015. The numbers were unveiled in a report published by GTM Research and Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA).
The report noted that for the first time in the US solar has been ranked as the number one source of new electricity generating capacity additions on annual basis. The share of solar in new capacity additions across all fuel types was 39% for the year 2016.
Solar’s success in the US has been credited to utility-scale segment, which was bolstered by a pipeline of projects initially hedging against the extension of the federal Investment Tax Credit, the report said.
The segment not only represented the most megawatts installed, but it also witnessed a growth rate of about 145% from 2105.
GTM Research's US solar associate director Cory Honeyman said: "In a banner year for US solar, a record 22 states each added more than 100MW.
"While US solar grew across all segments, what stands out is the double-digit-gigawatt boom in utility-scale solar, primarily due to solar's cost-competitiveness with natural-gas alternatives."
SEIA’s president and CEO Abigail Ross Hopper said: “What these numbers tell you is that the solar industry is a force to be reckoned with.
“Solar's economically winning hand is generating strong growth across all market segments nationwide, leading to more than 260,000 Americans now employed in solar.”