US installs 1.4 GW of solar photovoltaic (PV) in third quarter of 2014

The US added 1,354 MW of solar photovoltaic (PV) capacity in the third quarter of 2014, up 41% in annual terms, and thus raised the cumulative to 16,100 MW.

Meanwhile, the US’ concentrating solar power (CSP) operating capacity at the end of September remained at 1,400 MW as no CSP parks were brought inline in the third quarter, the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) and GTM Research said in a new report on Tuesday.

July-September 2014 marked the second largest quarter ever for PV additions in the country mainly thanks to effective public policies such as the solar Investment Tax Credit (ITC), Net Energy Metering (NEM) and Renewable Portfolio Standards (RPS). The utility solar PV market alone saw the addition of 825 MW, up from 540 MW of new capacity a year before.

In the meantime, the residential solar market surpassed 300 MW in the past quarter. According to GTM, residential PV sector is expected to be the largest on in the US solar market by 2017. “By the end of this year there will be more than 600,000 homes outfitted with solar, and we see no signs of a slowdown next year,” said GTM’s senior vice president Shayle Kann.

Installations in the non-residential segment fell 3% in the third quarter as compared to the year-ago period.

GTM and SEIA affirmed their guidance for 6,500 MW of new US PV capacity for the full year, up 36% on 2013 figures.