US Photovoltaics, expected record of 32 GW added in 2023
Florida is the first state market for US photovoltaics
On the same day that the GSE data on photovoltaic systems in Italy came out, the analysis company Wood Mackenzie presented the forecasts for the stars and strips market. Predictions that point upwards, towards a new historical record for US photovoltaics. The numbers are contained in the US Solar Market Insight Q3 2023 report, drawn up in collaboration with the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) to provide a timely look at installations, costs, production and projections of demand.
The general picture that emerges highlights the change in the pace triggered by the new Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), but also by the reduced restrictions in supplies. To the point that experts estimate for the American power a new solar capacity 2023 of 32 GW. This would be the highest value ever reached, equal to a 52% increase on 2022 volumes.
“The US is now a dominant player in the global clean energy economy, and states like Florida, Texas, Ohio and Georgia are at the forefront of this employment and economic growth,” said Abigail Ross Hopper, president and CEO of SEIA. “The solar and storage industry is […] generating tens of billions of dollars of private investment, and this is only the tip of the iceberg”. US module manufacturers have announced dramatic increases in capacity. If all these plans were to materialise, the United States (including Puerto Rico) would increase its total production capacity from the current 10.6 GW to 108.5 GW by 2026.
The data of US PV 2023
In the US, photovoltaics accounted for 45% of all new electricity generation capacity added to the grid in the first half of 2023. But some markets appear more dynamic than others. The residential and utility segments are pulling the compartment in the second quarter of the year have installed respectively 1.8 GW and 3.3 GW of plants. More restrained the commercial segment that installed only 345 MW, followed by the market of solar communities with new 226 MW. Florida continues to dominate the 2023 state photovoltaic ranking, thanks to 2.5 GW of new capacity installed in the first half of this year.
