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Great News: U.S. Solar Costs Drop and PV Installations Surge

Great news coming out of SEIA’s highly anticipated US Solar Market Q1 2012 Insight Report.

Among some of the encouraging highlights, sure to make consumers interested in solar even more eager to move forward:

• The average cost of a completed PV system dropped by 17 percent in the first quarter of 2012 compared to the first quarter of 2011.
• Since the beginning of 2010, the average cost of a PV system has dropped by more than 30 percent.
• The average price of a solar panel has declined by 47% since Q1 2011.

In addition, the report showed much promise for the solar industry as a whole:

• The U.S. now has over 4,940 MW of installed solar electric capacity, enough to power more than 775,000 average American households.

• The residential PV market installed 94 MW in the first quarter of 2012, breaking the previous quarterly record set in the fourth quarter of 2011.
• The commercial PV market also set a new quarterly record for installations. The market grew 77% over the first quarter of 2011 to reach 289 MW.

Also newsworthy are the state rankings for installer capacity. Where does your state fall on the list?

Download and view all the solar Energy Facts.

To learn more about and discuss the state of the solar nation, join our June 27th #SolarChat  from 2-3 p.m. EST. Expert panelists from the Solar Energy Industry Association and GTM research will lead a Twitter chat on the expanding solar market. RSVP here.

Post Written by Raina Russo
For Raina Brett Russo, taking care of the environment is a necessity, not an option. Having grown up in Israel, a place where conservation is required and solar hot water heating is the norm, Raina knows the importance of solar energy. Through her work with the EcoOutfitters.net team, Raina found a way to help grow the solar industry in a significant way. As the founder and host of #SolarChat, a bi-monthly "gathering" on Twitter, Raina and her team have created an engaged solar think-tank community that comes together regularly for collaboration and networking with the ultimate goal in mind of spreading the solar message.