Big increase for US solar in 2016: Report

[Pitt Gorilla]

http://www.cnbc.com/2016/09/12/big-i...-2016_report_1

The U.S.'s solar power capacity continues to grow after more than two gigawatts (GW) of solar photovoltaic (PV) installations took place during the second quarter of 2016, according to a report released on Monday.

The latest U.S. Solar Market Insight Report from GTM Research and the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) stated that the installations represented a 43 per cent increase compared to the second quarter of 2015.

"We're seeing the beginning of an unprecedented wave of growth that will occur throughout the remainder of 2016, specifically within the utility PV segment," Cory Honeyman, associate director of U.S. solar research at GTM Research, said in a news release.

Solar is becoming an increasingly important part of the world's renewable energy mix. In 2014 the International Energy Agency stated that the sun could be the planet's biggest source of electricity by 2050.

"With more than 10 gigawatts of utility PV currently under construction, the second half of this year and the first half of 2017 are on track to continue breaking records for solar capacity additions," Honeyman added.

The report found that utility scale installations represented 53 percent of all installed PV in the first half of 2016, with an extra 7.8 GW set to come online in 2016.

"Solar works in all 50 states and this report proves that what many would consider non-traditional markets are now firmly a part of the clean energy movement," Tom Kimbis, SEIA's interim president, said.

"While it took us 40 years to hit 1 million U.S. solar installations, we're expected to hit 2 million within the next two years," Kimbis added. "That record-breaking growth is made possible by solar's cost-competitiveness and the vast benefits it provides consumers, our nation's economy and environment."

[DaFace]

I've been glad to see the efficiency has been increasing rapidly as well. That makes it a much more viable option even in areas that don't get tons of sun all the time.

It's just too bad that it's taken this long to get enough clout to really make technological improvements.

[ChiliConCarnage]

Originally Posted by DaFace

I've been glad to see the efficiency has been increasing rapidly as well. That makes it a much more viable option even in areas that don't get tons of sun all the time.

It's just too bad that it's taken this long to get enough clout to really make technological improvements.

I read we just got 2 new gigawatts of juice. If memory serves we could use 1.2 gigawatts to go back in time and advance Solar research

[sd4chiefs]

I had solar panels installed last month. It will pay for itself in about 6 years. So far it is producing more than we are using which is amazing since my Wife has turned our house into a meat locker with the A/C.

[MagicHef]

Originally Posted by sd4chiefs

I had solar panels installed last month. It will pay for itself in about 6 years. So far it is producing more than we are using which is amazing since my Wife has turned our house into a meat locker with the A/C.

Yes, San Diego has no shortage of sun. Here in Seattle, solar power is pretty much non-existent.

[aturnis]

Originally Posted by sd4chiefs

I had solar panels installed last month. It will pay for itself in about 6 years. So far it is producing more than we are using which is amazing since my Wife has turned our house into a meat locker with the A/C.

I think the average residential install has a payoff of around 6 years. Many businesses much sooner.

[Baby Lee]

Originally Posted by sd4chiefs

I had solar panels installed last month. It will pay for itself in about 6 years. So far it is producing more than we are using which is amazing since my Wife has turned our house into a meat locker with the A/C.

Originally Posted by aturnis

I think the average residential install has a payoff of around 6 years. Many businesses much sooner.

I'd need to see the numbers on that, particularly how much is coming from incentives. Just 2 years ago our EE senior class tasked everyone with coming up with an estimate for insolation. Payback hovered in the area of 15-17 years. My team came up with a plan that paid back with then current incentives in 12 years and we were interrogated six ways to Sunday vetting our methods and calculations.

Also important to remember, there's payback and then there's payback. A big portion of your upfront is your inverter and most inverters have a 15-year operating life, which means that every 15 years expect a sizeable portion of your upfront costs to recur.

MoF, a big key in our shorter payback window was that is we went with small inverters with a shorter life span but much lower cost on each panel instead of one big expensive inverter for the entire installation.

['Hamas' Jenkins]

Originally Posted by DaFace

I've been glad to see the efficiency has been increasing rapidly as well. That makes it a much more viable option even in areas that don't get tons of sun all the time.

Moore's Law, bruh.

[Baby Lee]

Originally Posted by 'Hamas' Jenkins

Moore's Law, bruh.

I'm not going to start a big to-do with you, but Moore's law is specific to the fundamental physics underlying transistor fabrication limitations.

I hate being pedantic about it, but people have these unrealistic expectations about innovation based on our finally harnessing the size and speed of electrons that don't translate to harnessing other physical capabilities.

I appreciate good news on affordability and performance in solar and storage technology, but we are still in the infancy of seeing how it all develops. How many of these numbers are predicated on artificial subsidies and rosy predictions needs time to verify.

[Amnorix]

It used to be stupid rare to see a house with solar around here. Now it's merely uncommon.

I've been hit multiple times with people calling me to install in. Unfortunately, we've had water leak issues with our roof, which we fixed at significant cost in both money and emotional turmoil (made my wife a wreck), so I'm NOT ****ING TOUCHING THAT ROOF.

[Bwana]

Originally Posted by Amnorix

It used to be stupid rare to see a house with solar around here. Now it's merely uncommon.

I've been hit multiple times with people calling me to install in. Unfortunately, we've had water leak issues with our roof, which we fixed at significant cost in both money and emotional turmoil (made my wife a wreck), so I'm NOT ****ING TOUCHING THAT ROOF.

We have had a good run of bad luck with hail storms around here for the last few years, so I know all too well about the roof replacement. I have a feeling those solar panels would die a fast death when confronted with large hail stones as well.

[DaFace]

Originally Posted by Bwana

We have had a good run of bad luck with hail storms around here for the last few years, so I know all too well about the roof replacement. I have a feeling those solar panels would die a fast death when confronted with large hail stones as well.

From what I've read at least, they're actually pretty durable. The solar cell themselves are fragile, but they're covered in a thick piece of clear laminate that protects them pretty well.

[Radar Chief]

Originally Posted by DaFace

From what I've read at least, they're actually pretty durable. The solar cell themselves are fragile, but they're covered in a thick piece of clear laminate that protects them pretty well.

Industry standard is withstanding the impact of a 1" hail stone traveling 100 mph.

[Bwana]

Originally Posted by Radar Chief

Industry standard is withstanding the impact of a 1" hail stone traveling 100 mph.

Heh the last storm was brutal. We had golf ball to just under baseball size hail smack us. As far as speed, hell if I know, I didn't go outside to find out!!