Saturday, June 08, 2013: The demand for solar photovoltaic (PV) panels in the US is likely to grow notably in 2013 and set another record high at 4.3 gigawatts (GW). The demand is likely be 20 per cent more as compared to 2012 as reported by the latest NPD Solarbuzz North America PV Markets Quarterly.
Solar PV demand from the US market now caters to more than 12 per cent of annual global demand, as compared to only 5 per cent three years ago. Demand in Q2’13 is likely to touch 1 GW, with more than 70 per cent expected from California, Arizona, New Jersey, and North Carolina. While residential and small commercial rooftop PV installations comprise 18 per cent of this demand, 14 per cent of it comes from large commercial rooftops. The remaining 68 per cent is dominated by utility-dominated ground-mount segment.
Large utility-based solar PV projects in Arizona, New Mexico, California, and Texas will push US demand to more than 2.5 GW during Q2’13. However, significant contributions are expected towards the year-end from Hawaii, Massachusetts, New York, Nevada, North Carolina, and Ohio. PV demand from the US is expected to surpass 5GW next year which represents 70 per cent compound annual growth rate since 2009.
“The strong commercial and utility-based solar PV being deployed in the US is stimulated by state specific mandates that require solar to meet target levels, or carve-outs, of total energy production,” said Chris Sunsong, the analyst at NPD Solarbuzz.
