The U.S. installed almost 2.4 gigawatts (GW) of solar photovoltaics in the second quarter of 2017, an increase of 8 percent year-on-year, according to a new report from GTM Research and the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA).

Breaking the figures down, a total of 2,387 megawatts (MW) were installed in the second quarter with total installed capacity in the U.S. hitting 47.1 GW, enough to power just over nine million homes.

Looking forward, the U.S. Solar Market Insight report forecast that this year would see the solar industry add 12.4 GW of new capacity, down from GTM Research's prior forecast of 12.6 GW.

"This report shows once again that solar is on the rise and will continue to add to its share of electricity generation," Abigail Ross Hopper, president and CEO of the SEIA, said in a statement on Monday.



"Last year, solar companies added jobs 17 times faster than the rest of the economy and increased our GDP by billions of dollars," she added. "We are going to continue to fight for policies that allow the industry to continue this phenomenal growth."