Solar energy accounted for a significant portion of new electricity generation capacity added to the U.S. power grid in the first quarter of 2024, reaching a quarterly record in installations, a report by Wood Mackenzie and the Solar Energy Industries Association revealed.
According to the report, the U.S. solar industry witnessed the addition of 11.8 gigawatts of new capacity during the first three months of the year, with electric utilities driving rapid expansions in renewable energy sources.
The surge in solar installations can be attributed to several factors, including the increased availability of panels and supportive federal and state policies aimed at advancing clean energy initiatives to meet climate-related emissions targets.
The report noted the expansion of the global solar supply chain, along with a significant rise in module imports to the U.S. over the past year. Supply chain challenges eased, and solar panel costs decreased notably after President Biden implemented a two-year moratorium on imported panels suspected of being produced with forced labor in China.
Between June 2023 and March 2024, the U.S. imported 49 gigawatts of solar modules. Meanwhile, domestic solar panel manufacturing capacity soared from 15.6 gigawatts to 26.6 gigawatts in the first quarter of the year.
Leading the way in solar installations were states like Florida, Texas, California, and Nevada, with utility-scale solar projects constituting the majority of new additions.
However, the residential solar sector experienced a decline of 25% year-over-year and 18% quarter-over-quarter, primarily due to increasing interest rates and a slowdown in rooftop solar installations in California. On the other hand, the commercial solar sector remained relatively stable quarter-over-quarter.
Despite the challenges faced by the residential sector, the report anticipates that the United States will install a comparable amount of solar capacity in 2024 as it did in 2023, which marked a record year with nearly 40 gigawatts of new additions.
