SEIA: U.S. solar installed capacity is expected to reach 324 GW by 2023

A report jointly released by the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) and Wood Mackenzie stated that the installed capacity of the U.S. solar industry will reach 324 gigawatts in 2023, more than three times the installed capacity of nearly 100 gigawatts in 2020. 324 gigawatts of solar power generation is enough to meet the electricity needs of 60 million households, equivalent to 40% of the current household electricity consumption in the United States.

The outlook reflects both strong demand from utilities and businesses around the world seeking to meet greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets, as well as falling technology costs that support the market for home solar installations.

Only 3% of the U.S. electricity comes from the sun, but SEIA hopes that percentage will rise to 20% in the next decade.

U.S. installed capacity grew 43% to 19.2 GW last year, an annual record for the industry. Utility-scale projects, which make up the bulk of the market, experienced only minor disruptions due to pandemic-related lockdowns. Residential installations took a big hit in the second quarter but grew 11% to a record 3.1 GW by the end of the year.

Late last year, Congress extended a 26% tax credit to help lower the cost of solar installations as part of a package providing pandemic aid and funding to the U.S. government.

But SEIA said further tax incentives, the elimination of tariffs on panels made overseas and workforce training are necessary for the United States to reduce greenhouse gas emissions enough to prevent the worst effects of climate change.

“We need to develop policies in these areas so that we can not only grow on our current path but grow faster,” SEIA President Abigail Ross Hopper said in an interview.