Solar Accounted for 26% of 2015 Capacity Additions, Much More Planned for 2016

Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Utility-scale solar power projects accounted for 26% of U.S. capacity additions in 2015. While this puts solar projects in third place behind wind (41%) and natural gas (30%), it is an indicator of a continuing growth trend for solar power in the country. In fact, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), solar projects could leapfrog into first place in 2016 with more than 9 gigawatts (GW) of new solar capacity, if currently scheduled capacity is deployed as planned. This is more than three times the 3.1 GW of solar added in 2015.

Obviously one should always exercise caution when attempting to look into the future, and the EIA notes that most of 2016's solar additions are planned for December of this year. However, looking at the 48 solar projects that Industrial Info tracked with 2015 completion dates, one can see that December was, by far, the busiest completion month for solar projects. There were five projects completed in each of January, February, August, September and October, but there were 13 completed in December. The single most expensive solar project completed in 2015 was the 462 megawatt (MW) first phase of the Solar Star Power Station in Rosamond, California. The $1.5 billion project is owned by MidAmerican Solar (Des Moines, Iowa), a unit of Berkshire Hathaway Incorporated (NYSE: BRKA) (Omaha, Nebraska).

At first blush, December looks like an odd month to complete so many solar projects. After all, completing projects earlier in the year would take better advantage of the more direct angle of the sun's rays. The timing of project completion is, however, more likely aligned with the end of year expiration of federal subsidies, as well as state and local tax credits, than with the earth's relationship to the sun. If 2016 follows the trends evident in 2015, there is little reason to doubt that December will be this year's busiest month for solar project completions.

The Other Half of the Solar Story

As impressive as this growth in utility-scale solar projects is, it is only half of the solar story. The other half is small-scale solar installations, commonly referred to as distributed solar and most often located on commercial and residential properties. While these installations are indeed small, often less than 0.0005 MW, they are rapidly increasing in number and could potentially add more than 2 GW of solar capacity to the grid in 2016.

Industrial Info Resources (IIR), with global headquarters in Sugar Land, Texas, five offices in North America and 10 international offices, is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy markets. Industrial Info's quality-assurance philosophy, the Living Forward Reporting Principle™, provides up-to-the-minute intelligence on what's happening now, while constantly keeping track of future opportunities. Follow IIR on: Facebook - Twitter - LinkedIn. For more information on our coverage, send inquiries to info@industrialinfo.com or visit us online at http://www.industrialinfo.com/.