[audio:http://wamcradio.org/EarthWise/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/EW-02-10-14-Booming-US-Solar-Market.mp3|titles=EW 02-10-14 Booming US Solar Market]
Renewable energy is growing by leaps and bounds in the US and the growth in solar energy is particularly explosive. In 2013, the US installed more solar capacity than world-leader Germany for the first time in more than a decade.
In 2005, the US had a total of 171 megawatts of solar installations. By comparison, the US installed 930 megawatts of photovoltaic systems during just the 3rd quarter of last year, bringing the cumulative total in the country to more than 10,000 megawatts. On top of this, more than 500 megawatts of concentrating solar power systems (or CSP’s) came on line last year in America’s deserts.
The biggest growth has been in residential solar systems, driven by steadily decreasing prices, increasing numbers of fair net metering policies, and the wide availability of solar leasing programs all over the country. There are now 400,000 solar energy installations in the United States, most of which have come on line in the past few years. In fact, in 2013, solar was the second largest source of new electricity in the US, trailing only natural gas.
This boom in clean, renewable energy is also an important boost to the economy. As of 2012, there were more than 119,000 solar jobs in the US, a number that has been growing by double-digit percentages each year. There are more than 6,000 solar businesses and these businesses operate in every state of the union.
The sun is shining on the American solar energy industry.
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US Solar Industry Records Explosive Growth in Third Quarter
Photo, taken on June 12, 2012, courtesy of the U.S. Department of Agriculture via Flickr.
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