Dive Brief:
Solar deployment in the U.S. reached a record 19.2 GW of solar capacity last year, a volume expected to quadruple by 2030, according to the U.S. Solar Market Insight Report released by the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) and Wood Mackenzie Power & Renewables on Tuesday.
Residential solar deployment, initially impacted by the pandemic, reached a record 3.1 GW in 2020, up 11% from 2019. Utility solar also had its largest year on record, installing nearly 14 GW or 65% more annual capacity additions than in 2019.
WoodMac forecast an 18% growth in 2021 over 2020 distributed solar installations, "partly driven by increasing consumer interest in [distributed solar and solar-plus-storage] products for resilience needs," following the Texas winter storms, Michelle Davis, senior analyst at WoodMac, said in an email.