Smart federal policies needed to maintain growth and meet President Obama’s renewable energy goals.

WASHINGTON– Today, the Solar Energy Industries Association released its 2008 U.S. Solar Industry Year in Review, highlighting a third year of record growth. The report notes that 1,265 megawatts (MW) of solar power of all types were installed in 2008, bringing total U.S. solar power capacity up 17 percent to 8,775 MW. The 2008 figure included 342 MW of solar photovoltaic (PV), 139 MWTh (thermal equivalent) of solar water heating, 762 MWTh of pool heating and an estimated 21 MW of solar space heating and cooling.

"Despite severe economic pressures in the United States, demand for solar energy grew tremendously in 2008," said Rhone Resch, president and CEO of SEIA. "Increasingly, solar energy has proven to be an economic engine for this country, creating thousands of jobs, unleashing billions in investment dollars and building new factories from New Hampshire to Michigan to Oregon.”

Rates of growth beat last year’s as well, with the grid-tied PV segment leading with a growth rate of 81 percent for the amount of installed power in 2008 (292 MW) over the amount installed in 2007 (161 MW). Solar water heating installation grew at a 50 percent rate in 2008 (139 MWTh) over 2007 (93 MWTh) and pool heating growth slowed by 3 percent in 2008 (762 MWTh) from 2007 (785 MWTh).

No new concentrating solar power plants came online in the United States this past year, but projects now in the pipeline add up to more than 6 gigawatts (6,000 MW). Among these are projects planned for California’s Mojave Desert, Arizona and Florida. Four gigawatts of solar energy can power up to a million households.

“To maintain our industry’s growth, create jobs and meet President Obama’s goal of doubling renewable energy production in the next three years, we need smart federal policies, such as a renewable portfolio standard with a specific solar provision that help to develop and deploy vast solar resources around the country,” said Resch. “Today’s solar technology combined with the right policies will help us double solar production in the United States and move us to a clean, energy future.”

States that led in grid-tied PV installation were California (178.6 MW)[1], New Jersey (22.5 MW), Colorado (21.6 MW), Nevada (13.9) and Hawaii (11.3 MW). For solar water heating systems, Hawaii led states, installing 37 percent of the total U.S. systems in 2008, followed by Florida (20 percent), California (7 percent), Colorado (5 percent) and Arizona (5 percent). The Mid-Atlantic States, an important emerging region for solar, installed 7 percent of solar water heating systems. Several states added or expanded incentives or requirements for solar energy including California, Hawaii, Maryland, Massachusetts, Missouri and Ohio. To date, 28 states have renewable portfolio standards that require a certain amount of energy be generated from renewable sources, with 19 of these states mandating a portion come from solar or distributed sources. (Distributed generation occurs on land and buildings close to where the energy is used rather than central station power that is transported via power lines.)

A total of 42 states and the District of Columbia now have net metering rules allowing owners of solar energy systems to sell excess electricity back to the grid. However, these rules differ from state to state and a unified national policy is necessary.

The U.S. solar industry increased domestic PV manufacturing capacity by 65 percent, creating desperately needed jobs in states such as California, Michigan, Ohio, Oregon and Tennessee as they increased production capacity to 685 MW.

“The growth of solar manufacturing jobs in the U.S. was a breath of fresh air for communities hit hard by the recession. The recently enacted manufacturing tax credit will give further incentive to manufacturers, such as my company Suntech America, to invest in new operations in the U.S.” said Roger Efird, chairman of SEIA and President of Suntech America, Inc. “With the right policies, solar deployment will continue robust growth and thousands of new green-collar jobs in manufacturing will be created in states where jobs are needed most.”

The report highlights the rapid growth of the U.S. solar energy market:

- Overall U.S. solar industry capacity increased 17 percent. (Page 1)

- Installed grid-tied PV increased 58 percent in 2008 from 2007 and grew at a faster rate, 81 percent compared to 2007. (Pages 2, 5)

- Installed grid-tied PV increased by more than 18,000 installations in 2008, or more than 27 percent, compared to the 14,306 installations in 2007.

- More than 6 GW (6,090 MW) of utility-scale CSP plants are in the pipeline. (Pages 6, 7)

- PV manufacturing capacity increased 65 percent and production grew by 53 percent. (Page 5)

- Top states for grid-tied PV capacity additions in 2008: Calif. (178.6 MW), N.J. (22.5 MW), Colo. (21.6 MW), Nev. (13.9), Hawaii (11.3 MW) (Page 4)

- Top states for total cumulative grid-tied PV: Calif. (530.1 MW); N.J. (70.2 MW), Col. (35.7 MW) and Nevada (33.2). (Page 4)

The Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 included an 8-year extension of the federal solar investment tax credit that has spurred U.S. market growth over the last 3 years. This long-term extension will facilitate the long-term planning and investment necessary for the U.S. solar industry to reach its full potential.

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 also included several provisions that should support continued growth in solar deployment including a 30-percent grant program for commercial and utility-scale solar installations to be administered by the Department of Treasury, a Department of Energy loan guarantee program, and a 30-percent manufacturing investment tax credit to attract investors to the U.S. market. Crafted wisely, other policies being debated at the national level – electric transmission infrastructure, national RPS, and global warming legislation – would also stimulate continued growth of the industry.

See the full report at http://www.seia.org/galleries/pdf/2008_Year_in_Review-small.pdf