West Coast Leads Fourth-Quarter U.S. Solar Project Starts

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Industrial Info is tracking more than $1.7 billion in solar power projects that are planned to kick off in the U.S. from October through December 2016. Much of this activity is due to companies and municipalities wanting to take advantage of the federal government's investment tax credit (ITC) for solar installations. The ITC currently provides a 30% tax credit for solar installations constructed through 2019, before gradually stepping down to 10% in future years.

The 26 projects being tracked by Industrial Info range in size from a smaller, $1 million installation on up to a $500 million, 195-megawatt (MW) project at the Lemoore Naval Air Station in California. The project is planned to kick off next month and be completed in the summer of 2018. An additional 195-MW Phase II expansion could begin following the completion of Phase I and take approximately two years to construct.

The West Coast market region, which includes the states of California, Washington and Oregon, ranks highest in the U.S. in terms of the value of solar projects, and California easily eclipses other states in terms of project value, primarily because of the Lemoore project.

Click on image at right for a breakdown by state of planned fourth-quarter solar power projects in the U.S.

Oregon also ranks quite highly in terms of project value, with two projects valued at a combined $277 million. The larger of these is a 55-MW grassroot solar energy project near Prineville. Construction of the project is planned to kick off by the end of the year and be completed by the end of first-quarter 2017.

Florida follows Oregon and California in terms of project value, with three planned projects valued at $255 million.

As long as the ITC remains in place, particularly while it remains at the 30% tax credit rate, developers will continue to show interest in U.S. solar projects. 2017 could be an even bigger year for solar. Industrial Info is so far tracking 80 solar projects valued at $11.4 billion that are planned to kick off in the U.S. in 2017.

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.