The East Coast Solar Market

Oct. 1, 2010 - PRLog -- In recent years, the global solar-power market has expanded by leaps and bounds.  At the close of 2009, the United States was fourth on the list behind Germany, Spain and Japan regarding total solar capacity.  The United State's solar capacity is now growing at the most rapid rate in the international market and is expected to become the more dominant market by 2014.  

On the East Coast our states hold five of the top ten spots for solar installations in the US.

#2 NJ, #3 MA,  #4 NY, #6 CT, #8 PA and honorable mention  
to:  MD # 11,  VT #12  FL # 14 according to the NREL..  

Did you know?  On the East Coast of the US, the popularity of solar power is gaining ground at a very rapid rate.  10 of the top 25 largest US solar projects have taken place on the East Coast.  

2 projects in PA for 6MW

4-NJ projects in for 12MW

1-NC projects in for 4 MW

2-FL projects in for 35 MW

1-OH projects in 12 MW

according to SEPA. Wow! That's a lot of Mega Watts!  

State Incentives - While Incentives on the East Coast are much  like "musical chairs" (remember when the music stops who has a chair?). NJ leads with their SREC program.  MA burns through its Block III and is awaiting Block IV of the Commonwealth Solar II rebate program.  In CT, CCEF has re-established its popular solar lease program.

While these programs make it much easier to justify solar, the stability of the program funding makes it very difficult for installers to do proper business planning.  With lower cost of installing solar, higher electrical rates and continued panel and inverter efficiency, it won't be long before we can stand on our own!  Won't that be a great day!

In the Sept/Oct issue of Solar Today there is an article projecting $4/watt for installed residential solar systems and $3/watt for commercial systems by 2015 and I believe we will see this sooner.  With panel and inverter pricing coming down, more efficient racking systems that make installations faster, and improve best installation practices will assist all of us in achieving this goal.  Furthermore, as panel and inverter become more efficient, the output will increase and therefore the cost per watt will decrease.  These factors coupled with headlines like the following should provide the fuel for all of us to prosper.

Market in the USA is rapidly gaining momentum

Market research company Greentech Media Research expects the PV demand in the USA to record the fastest growth in the next four years in comparison to all other major markets. During this period the United States could even overtake Spain and become the world's second largest PV market after Germany.

Investments in the US photovoltaic market will triple by 2012; secondary markets gain in importance

According to the base scenario, investment in US American PV projects will reach about six billion US dollars in 2012, starting at 2.35 billion dollars in 2009. The average annual growth lies at 37.6%.  Investments in photovoltaic projects on a power plant scale will show the strongest growth, approximately 56% per year, and will reach a volume of 1.48 billion US dollars in 2012.  SunEdison alone, a subsidiary of the photovoltaic group MEMC, reports full order books for solar power plants with an output exceeding 100 MW in 2010. According to the optimistic scenario total investments will reach 8.17 billion US dollars in 2012, with an annual increase of 41.1%.

According to a base scenario the demand for solar power plants will grow to 1 515 MW in 2012 with an annual average increase of 48% between 2008 and 2012. An optimistic scenario even anticipates a demand of up to 2022 MW in 2012.  

About Company :

At Solar Wholesale Products we have a staff committed to assisting you with your solar energy product needs. We have extensive solar distribution experience and can assist you in designing a solar system. Our products include the following grid tie solar systems components: solar panels,inverters, solar electrical wire and connectors, racking systems and a balance of system components needed to install a grid tie solar system.

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At Solar Wholesale Products we have a staff committed to assisting you with your solar energy product needs. We have extensive solar distribution experience and can assist you in designing a solar system.