San Francisco, Calif. – Following reductions in feed-in tariffs across Europe, the rapid rise in the photovoltaic (PV) project pipeline in the US market now represents one of the most compelling PV market growth opportunities anywhere in the world.
According to the July 2011 edition of the United States Deal Tracker database released by Solarbuzz, the US non-residential photovoltaic pipeline now exceeds 17 gigawatts (GW). This total comprises 601 projects ranging from 50 kilowatts (kW) to 500 megawatts (MW) in size, with planned installation dates from 2H11 to 2015.
In total, the Tracker now lists 1,565 non-residential projects totaling 20.3 GW either installed, being installed, or in their development phase since January 1, 2010. In the development phase are projects pre-RFP, going through the RFP process, or are planned without RFP.
California currently accounts for 62% of the total US project pipeline, stimulated by the state’s aggressive 33% Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) target. State RPS policies have been a major driver in building the pipeline in leading states. The top six state pipelines in megawatt terms are California, Arizona, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, and Texas..
“With the overall US market size forecast around 2 GW in 2011, there remains significant challenges for the 17 GW in the pipeline,” said Craig Stevens, president, Solarbuzz. “Most notably, these include aligning project structure with financing sources, overcoming regulatory challenges and taking full advantage of recent price movements in the market to procure the best mix of PV system components.”