According to recent reports, more than half of all new electricity generated in the U.S. in the first quarter of 2015 came from solar, much of it from solar panels on homes – and new results from the second quarter just set another record. This article from Katie Fehrenbacher of Fortune takes an inside look at this year’s rapid growth of residential solar.
The market to install solar panels on the roofs of homes in the U.S. set another record in the second quarter of this year, indicating a shift in the U.S. solar panel industry towards home owners and consumers.
According to a new report from research firm GTM Research and the Solar Energy Industry Association trade group, the recent record beat out the amount of solar panels installed on home roofs in the first quarter of this year, which itself was a record at the time.
For years, the bulk of solar panels in the U.S. have been installed in big solar farms in remote areas, creating electricity to be sold to utilities. Utilities distribute this electricity to consumers through a centralized power grid.
But the amount of U.S. residential solar panels has been growing more rapidly, and has been expanding across more states than ever before. The amount of home solar roofs grew 70% year-over-year for the most recent quarter, and went from four states with vibrant residential solar markets in 2013, to ten states today.
The growth in the market for residential solar is particularly interesting because by installing panels on roofs, consumers take more control over their own electricity generation. Energy generation becomes decentralized, in contrast to the traditional centralized model. In that model, utilities still provide the backbone for the grid, but don’t own the generation.
