WASHINGTON - Solar energy deployment increased at a record pace in the United States in 2008, according to a new industry report. The Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) released its “2008 U.S. Solar Industry Year in Review,” which found that U.S. solar energy capacity increased by 17 percent last year, reaching the equivalent of 8,775 megawatts (MW).

The SEIA report tallies all types of solar energy, and last year the United States installed 342 MW of solar photovoltaic (PV) electric power, 139 thermal megawatts (MWTh) of solar water heating, 762 MWTh of pool heating, and 21 MWTh of solar space heating and cooling.

The growth rate was highest for grid-connected PV electric systems, which increased by 58 percent to a total of 792 MW. California dominated this category, installing 178.6 MW of grid-tied PV, but the largest PV system, at 10 MW, was built in Boulder City, Nev. Meanwhile, domestic PV manufacturing capacity increased by 65 percent, and preliminary estimates peg the total U.S. PV manufacturing capacity at 685 MW per year as of the end of 2008.

Publication date: 04/06/2009