U.S. PV installations, Q1 2010 - Q2 2015. Credit: GTM Research

The business of photonics site, optics.org, reported on Wednesday that Solar PV (photovoltaic) was responsible for 40 percent of new US electricity generating capacity brought online in the first half of this year. As important, the site said that the installation of solar photovoltaic (PV) panels continues to gather momentum in the United States.

They are referring to the findings of analysts at Greentech Media (GTM) Research. Their "Q2 2015 U.S. Solar Market Insight Report" was done in collaboration with the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA). The full report carries state-level breakdowns of installations, costs, manufacturing and demand projections.

According to the SEIA site, the residential solar market registered another quarterly record in the second quarter, with 70 percent growth year-over-year. Meanwhile, 729 MW of utility-scale solar PV came on-line in the second quarter of the year, representing more than half - 52 percent - of the nation's quarterly total.

The site took note of two factors: (1) the falling cost of the technology and (2) new financing models. While PV deployments in the US typically have been concentrated in a handful of solar-friendly states such as California, falling costs and new models contribute to a more even distribution across the country.

According to optics.org, "The GTM Research figures suggest that ten different states each installed more than 10 MW of residential PV in the latest quarter. Only four states managed that in the same quarter of 2013."

Basically, the report considers the United States solar industry as continuing on a record breaking trajectory. According to the report, 729 MW of utility-scale solar PV came on-line in the second quarter, representing 52 percent of the nation's quarterly total. "With the federal solar Investment Tax Credit (ITC) scheduled to drop at the end of 2016, utility-scale development is at an all-time high with more than 5 GW of capacity currently under construction," the report said.

Shayle Kann, senior vice president at GTM Research, said, "The utility PV market continues to be the bedrock driver of new installation growth. And in the second half of this year through 2016, growth will reach new heights as a higher share of what comes online stems from projects procured purely based on centralized solar's cost competitiveness,"

Rhone Resch, SEIA President and CEO, sees demand for solar energy as higher than ever. Resch thinks the report is an indicator of just how "crucial it is for America to maintain smart, effective, forward-looking public policies, like the ITC, beyond 2016."

Resch said there now is enough solar in the U.S. to power 4.6 million homes. "Since the ITC was passed in 2006, U.S. solar growth has exploded and more than 150,000 American solar jobs have been created."

The solar Investment Tax Credit (ITC) is a federal policy mechanism to support the deployment of solar energy in the United States. The SEIA successfully advocated for a multi-year extension of the credit in 2008.

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