U.S. solar industry sets records in 2020, on track to quadruple by 2030

The U.S. solar industry grew 43% and installed a record 19.2 GWdc of capacity in 2020, according to the “U.S. Solar Market Insight 2020 Year-in-Review” report by Wood Mackenzie and the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA).

For the second year in a row, solar led all technologies in new electric-generating capacity added, accounting for 43%. According to Wood Mackenzie’s 10-year forecast, the U.S. solar industry will install a cumulative 324 GWdc of new capacity to reach a total of 419 GWdc over the next decade.

“After a slowdown in Q2 [2020] due to the pandemic, the solar industry innovated and came roaring back to continue our trajectory as America’s leading source of new energy,” said SEIA President/CEO Abigail Ross Hopper. “The forecast shows that by 2030, the equivalent of one in eight American homes will have solar, but we still have a long way to go if we want to reach our goals in the Solar+ Decade.”