‘Perfect storm.' Solar industry shrinks growth forecasts.
Solar analysts are lowering growth estimates significantly for the U.S. industry over the next five years as a 'perfect storm' threatens projects, according to a new report.
In a market report Monday, the Solar Energy Industries Association and research firm Wood Mackenzie said residential solar installations are projected to be 14 percent lower through 2030 than what was predicted last quarter, with utility scale solar installations estimated to be 7 percent lower. The projections consider recent tariffs from the Trump administration but don't include effects from potential tax credit rollbacks, suggesting the ultimate hit on the industry could be more severe if Congress enacts current language in the reconciliation package.
'Solar and storage continue to dominate America's energy economy, adding more new capacity to the grid than any technology using increasingly American-made equipment,' said SEIA President and CEO Abigail Ross Hopper. 'But our success is at risk.'
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In the first quarter, solar dominated adds to the grid, constituting 69 percent of installations, the report said. Developers added 10.8 gigawatts, the fourth-largest quarter on record.
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