New research from GTM Research forecasts that the US community solar sector is to reach a tipping point soon, growing five-fold in 2015 and regularly reaching 500 GW by 2020.
The forecast is central to GTM Research’s latest report, US Community Solar Outlook 2015-2020, which provides a comprehensive analysis of the US community solar sector. GTM Research explains that the report “defines and segments the market, forecasts installations in total and by state, outlines the legislature that is helping and hampering community solar, and provides a snapshot of today’s competitive landscape.”
Specifically, the report forecasts community solar to reach 115 MW installed in 2015, and by 2020 the energy analysts predict the community solar market will be installing 500 MW annually — an impressive growth trajectory for a sector which only installed a cumulative 66 MW through the end of 2014. Unsurprisingly then, “GTM Research has pegged [the community solar market] as the most significant solar growth market for the United States.”
cleantechnica
UK Seeing Strong Solar & Wind Growth
The UK has seen strong growth in both its wind and solar markets so far this year, installing more than 2.5 GW in solar in Q1’15 and breaking the 5 GW installed wind milestone.
According to figures provided by Solar Intelligence obtained from Ofgem, the UK solar industry installed a startling 2.53 GW in the first quarter of 2015. Figures from 2014 showed that the UK’s installed solar PV capacity had grown from 2.8 GW in 2013 to almost 5 GW by the end of the year, which shows just how impressive this year’s Q1’15 growth was.
Of the 2.53 GW installed in the first quarter, 94% of the new capacity is traced back to the renewable obligation-funded, ground-mounted solar farms.
cleantechnica