Key updates from this Quarterly Solar Industry Update presentation:
- The United States installed 10.6 gigawatts direct current (GW-DC) of PV in 2017, 3.9 GW-DC in Q4—cumulative capacity reached 51.6 gigawatts (GW).
- After tariffs were placed on imported photovoltaic (PV) cells and modules, several countries have taken steps to dispute the proclamation and companies are seeking exemptions.
- Over 2 GW of new manufacturing capacity has been announced in the first 4 months of 2018, citing tariffs and corporate tax reductions.
- In 2017, the U.S. produced approximately 260 megawatts (MW) of PV cells and 970 MW of PV modules—a decrease of 66% and 43%, respectively, year over year.
- Global PV installations reached 415 GW-DC, an annual increase of 98 GW-DC from 2016.
- At the end of 2017, global CSP installations reached 5.6 GW, an increase of 400 MW.
- EIA reports that 32% of all new U.S. electricity generating capacity came from solar installations in 2017, though solar only represented 3.9% of net summer capacity and 1.9% of annual generation in 2017.
- From H2 2016 to H2 2017, EnergySage reported a 7% reduction in the average gross costs of a residential system to $3.13/watt (W).
- In Q4 2017, total costs for Vivint- and Sunrun-built systems were between $2.65/W and $3.00/W.
- In a select data set of utility-scale PV systems, the median system price in 2017 was $2.16/watts alternating current (W-AC) ($1.66/W-DC).
- Global module ASP continues to decline to a low of 30 cents/W, while many manufacturers report module costs at similar values.
- U.S. module pricing traded at a premium in late 2017 due to tariff concerns.
Download the full Q4 2017/ Q1 2018 presentation here.