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Report: Solar seizes 55% share of Q1 US generating capacity additions

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Report: Solar seizes 55% share of Q1 US generating capacity additions

Solar photovoltaics seized a 55% share of all new U.S. electric generating capacity added in the first quarter with the installation of 2,477 MW, 13% more than a year ago, GTM Research and the Solar Energy Industries Association said in a new report. It was the tenth consecutive quarter with more than 2,000 MW of solar capacity additions, they added.

California led the way with 1,019 MW, followed by Florida with 482 MW and New York with 124 MW, according to the report, released June 12. Utility-scale photovoltaic projects totaled 1,406 MW, home solar installations added 562 MW, and projects at businesses and other nonresidential sites added 509 MW. NextEra Energy Inc. accounted for roughly half of utility-scale solar installations in the first quarter, according to recent analysis by S&P Global Market Intelligence.

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Falling panel and system prices helped to fuel the double-digit first-quarter growth, which came despite the 30% import tariffs that President Donald Trump placed on foreign-made solar cells and panels in January. The solar market will be flat for 2018, however, with the addition of roughly 10,800 MW, GTM Research forecast. Large-scale project developers exited the quarter with a contracted pipeline of about 19,200 MW, the report noted.

The U.S. solar industry will experience "a more robust rebound" in 2019, followed by growth rates exceeding 10% in the early 2020s, driven partly by California's recently approved requirement for solar on new homes, GTM Research projected. The rules, which await a final procedural review, will create an additional 800 MW of demand between 2020 and 2023, it said.