US utilities added 2,384 MW of new solar capacity in 2012, reports SEPA Large-scale projects accounted for 46% of all solar capacity added by utilities in the US last year © Corporate Headquarters BrightSource Energy, Inc. 07.06.2013: According to the Solar Electric Power Association’s (SEPA) sixth-annual Utility Solar Rankings report, US utilities added 2,384 MW (AC) of new solar capacity in 2012, up from 1,480 MW in 2011 and 781 MW in 2010. The market share for large-scale solar projects – those over 5 MW in size – grew 160% year on year to reach 1,106 MW in 2012. Large-scale projects accounted for 46% of all solar capacity added by utilities in the US last year. Overall, utilities owned 12% of large-scale PV capacity and purchased the remaining 88% through power purchase agreements. Net energy metering (NEM), or customer-sited solar, continues to play the largest role in the US market, accounting for more than 99% of solar systems installed in 2012. Utilities interconnected nearly 90,000 net-metered projects totaling 1,151 MW (AC) last year, representing 46% growth over 2011. There are currently about 3,500 MW (AC) of net-metered projects in the US, approximately 80% of which are located in five states – California, New Jersey, Arizona, Hawaii and Massachusetts. The report, parts of which were released in April, found that in 2012, the top 10 utilities in terms of newly installed solar capacity were located in California, New Jersey, Arizona, Nevada, North Carolina and Hawaii. As previously announced, with 806 MW of new solar capacity, California utility Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) was again the top utility in 2012. California utility Southern California Edison (SCE) ranked second with 195 MW, pushing New Jersey utility Public Service Electric & Gas (PSE&G) to third place with 145 MW. Market analysts predicts the US will add 2.6 to 3.6 GW (AC) of PV power and 0.75 to 1 GW of CSP this year. SEPA also expects continued growth in 2013, driven by sustained price decreases and an increase in the number of new large-scale solar power plants. SEPA predicts US utilities will add 3 to 3.5 GW of new large-scale generation capacity in 2013. © PHOTON solarelectricpower.org solarelectricpower.org/media/324121/final-2012-top-10-repor t-v2.pdf
Posted on: Sun, 09 Jun 2013 22:32:04 +0000