The first three months of 2019 revealed a record time for the #solar industry, regardless of the government’s support of fossil fuels and tariffs. This is in accordance with the Solar Market Insight Report 2019 Q2. More than 2,570 megawatts of solar were installed in the United States, which is up from one year ago by 10 percent.
There is something to be said about utility-scale and residential solar projects. But many might be surprised to know that #Florida was the top solar installer, even coming out above the state of California.
Residential Solar Installation is Up
In the first quarter, installation numbers in the residential sector came in to the tune of 603 megawatts, which is up from one year ago by 6 percent. This is good for solar installers such as Vivint Solar and #Sunrun. Of course, companies like these must have solar installations in order to stay on top. The question is – are higher volumes in terms of solar installations assisting with marketing costs? What about lower sales? These areas have been a struggle for the industry.
There are no indications that solar is going to slow down, as utility solar saw more than 1,630 MW of installations in the aforementioned quarter. A great deal of growth, as previously mentioned, is being driven by the state of Florida. The outlook for FL’s utility-scale additions was increased by #Wood Mackenzie, up to 9,000 MW (this is up from 6,000 MW). Across the country, the forecast for utility-scale solar was raised by 4,000 from now through 2023 (and 1,200 MW in 2019).
A weak segment was commercial solar. In this area, there was an increase in installations by 18 percent from one year ago. States such as Massachusetts, California and Minnesota made policy adjustments which impacted the industry. The data is a bit shaky, however, as the report with this information tied commercial and community solar together.
860 MW were installed in Florida in one quarter in comparison to 758 MW back in 2017. Even in 2018, less than 860 MW were installed (857, to be precise). California has otherwise taken the lead in the United States regarding solar installations, as it installed just under 2,600 MW in 2017. But in 2019, things slowed down to 538 MW in one quarter.
Solar Growth in Florida
Who or what is driving growth in Florida? One of the key companies is Florida Power & Light. This utility might eventually be one of the largest solar utilities in America, after announcing a plan to install 10,000 MW over the next decade. Unfortunately, in some areas, Florida is still behind. This notion applies to commercial and residential solar installations. Until last year, solar leases were not allowed – additionally, there are barriers when it comes to net metering.
#Solar Stocks: Time to Soar?
More volume in America is great news for solar stocks. It is expected that this year and beyond, stocks such as #SunPower and #First Solar are expected to see an increase in demand. Basically, higher volumes for these stocks is good news. If companies can demonstrate that increased volume is assisting in terms of margins, then this is even better.
It is interesting to see the changes being made across the globe when it comes to clean #energy. And many of these changes are taking place in our own backyards. Wood Mackenzie boosting the forecast for the solar market in the United States thanks to changes and announcements in Florida (and other states, such as Texas) is great news. The expectation, as per Wood Mackenzie Power & Renewables, is that more than 13 gigawatts of additions in terms of solar capacity will take place this year alone. This is certainly news worth talking about. Prices are falling and developers are jumping on the opportunity to take advantage of the tax credit’s phase down.
Stay in the know – stay on top of solar news so you can see the great changes taking place as the need for a shift to using clean energy is realized.
Sources:
https://www.fool.com/investing/2019/06/21/record-start-to-2019-bodes-well-for-solar-stocks.aspx
https://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/read/woodmac-solar-numbers#gs.lha5pt
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