US, California PV installs soaring

Via Electroiq

US PV installations will spike 166% in 2011 to 2.4GW, doubling the 80% growth seen in 2010, with California leading the way, according to new reports from IHS iSuppli.

The number of PV installations will climb 25% this year to 49,000, according to the firm. Ground-mount installs make up a little more than half of US PV installs (1.4GW), well ahead of commercial projects (710MW) and residential installs (270MW).

After this year, though, IHS iSuppli predicts a big pullback in US PV install growth — to “only” 29% growth (to 3.1GW), tracking to about 5.5GW by 2015. Europe is expected to suffer a downturn in 2012, but the US will keep its growth thanks to US DoE loan guarantees to help large projects secure lower-cost capital.

Among US states, California is the unsurprising leader by a wide margin, accounting for just under 1GW this year (967MW), almost 4× as much as No.2 New Jersey (260MW) and No.3 Arizona (240MW). New Mexico (140MW) and Nevada (120MW) make the list decidedly Southwest top-heavy, with mostly East-coasters rounding out the top 10 (Pennsylvania, Florida, New York, North Carolina, Colorado).

Read More: US, California PV installs soaring