Solar Trade Group Reports Surge in U.S. Installations

The New York Times

Partly driven by an oversupply of cheaper panels from China, the domestic solar market had its best year in 2012, with the growth in installations outpacing that of the global market, according to an annual report to be released Thursday.

The report, from the Solar Energy Industries Association, the industry’s main trade group, and GTM Research, a renewable energy consulting firm, found that the amount of new solar electric capacity increased last year by 76 percent from 2011, raising the United States’ market share of the world’s installations above 10 percent, up from roughly 5 to 7 percent in the last seven years.

“It’s kind of a new world order,” said Shayle Kann, vice president for research at GTM.

The United States continues to grow as European markets, which used to drive global expansion, have pulled back from feed-in tariffs and stagnated, he said.