The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) now regularly reports on monthly estimates of small-scale distributed PV electricity generation and capacity by state and sector, according to a recent release.

Previously, the EIA provided monthly state-level data only for utility-scale generation sources, including solar, but only provided annual national-level generation and capacity estimates for small-scale solar PV.

The EIA estimates that U.S. solar generation totaled 3.5 million MWh in September 2015, with 33% coming from small-scale solar PV and 67% from utility-scale solar. Overall U.S. solar generation was equivalent to about 1% of the total reported electricity generation from all utility-scale sources with 351 million MWh in September 2015.

‘Generation from rooftop PV systems has become an increasingly important part of total solar generation in the United States,’ says Adam Sieminski, the EIA's administrator. ‘The new monthly reporting on small-scale distributed solar PV systems gives the country a better way to track their contribution to the nation's electricity supply.’

According to the report, almost 40% of the distributed PV capacity in the U.S. is located in California, due to the state's high electricity prices, large population, strong solar resources and pro-solar state policies. The next nine states after California account for another 44%.

To read the full Electric Power Monthly report, click here.