US Solar Companies

US solar companies

April 12, 2016 | By Keith Martin in Washington, DC

US Solar Companies are expected to install 16,000 megawatts of solar panels in 2016, up from 7,300 megawatts in 2015, according to a Solar Energy Industries Association report in March.

SEIA expects solar output to increase from 1% of US electricity supply today to as much as 3.5% by 2020. The cost of panels has dropped 67% since 2010. Utility-scale projects will account for roughly 75% of new solar installations in 2015. Residential installations are expected to be 2,800 megawatts this year, up from 2,100 megawatts in 2015.

Rooftop solar could eventually supply as much as 40% of US electricity, according to a National Renewable Energy Laboratory report in late March. NREL looked at the rooftop potential in 128 urban areas. It redid calculations that it had done in 2008. The potential almost doubled since then due to more efficient solar panels, better solar simulation tools and new construction of more rooftops in areas with good sunlight and few trees.