Solar Snapshot 2018

The Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) released its Solar Market Insight Report this week.  2017 was another banner year for solar, with 10.6 gigawatts (direct current) of solar photovoltaic capacity installed. In line with previous years, 59% of the installed capacity came from the utility PV segment, while distributed solar accounted for 41% of installations. 

Massachusetts retains its leadership role in the solar sector, and ranks 6th in the country with respect to cumulative solar capacity installed.  As the start of this year, the Commonwealth had a little more than 2 GW of solar projects operating.

The outlook for the solar sector nationwide moving forward has dimmed thanks to the taxes on imported solar cells and panels recently enacted by the Trump administation.  According to forecasts by GTM, the Trump effect won't play a big role in 2018 because many buyers purchased solar modules before the tariffs took effect. But growth in utility-scale solar is expected to be stagnant between 2020 and 2022 because the tariffs will delay and possibly kill some projects