|
|
 |
|
Viewing report
|
|
|
|
North American Residential Solar Power Market
Frost & Sullivan, Dec 2010, Pages: 68
Government Incentives Ramp up Growth Prospects for the North American Residential Solar Power Market
The residential solar power market has experienced tremendous growth during the last three years due to rising energy prices and government incentives on solar energy for residential applications. In the United States, the combination of rebates for home solar installation and ability to sell excess solar power through the grid has made solar power-generated electricity affordable and competitive in California and other states that have similar incentives. “Solar PV installations in the residential sector are expected to increase at a CAGR of 39.0 percent from 2010 to 2017,” notes the analyst of this research service. “It is estimated that the United States residential solar power market will have 1,410 MW of PV cumulative installed capacity by the end of 2010, an increase of 664 MW over 2009.”
In 2010, the residential solar power market faced challenges, such as over-dependency on government support, competition against other distributed generation technologies, and shortage of solar PV modules. The impact of these challenges is expected to reduce in the near future, as the demand for solar-powered systems continues to increase and solar capital and energy costs decrease due to expanding manufacturing capacity and technological improvements. Grid-connected PV systems tend to have higher up-front costs than other conventional energy systems and it can take almost 20 years for consumers to recover the installation costs through solar electricity savings. This tends to deter consumers from investing in solar-powered systems. In many cases, adoption of solar PV systems becomes a secondary option as there are several other low-cost distributed power generation technologies that satisfy the on-site power requirements of end users.
“A direct threat arises from the proven, low-cost, and easily available diesel fired generator sets used for base power application in many remote areas,” says the analyst. “However, during the last two years, the expanded manufacturing capacity in the solar industry, in combination with the global financial crisis, led to a decline in wholesale module prices, reducing the impact of this restraint on the market.”
Technologies
The following technologies are covered in this research:
- First-generation PV cells
- Second-generation PV cells
- Third-generation PV cells
Product samples
A sample for this product is available. Please Login/Register to download this sample.
|
|
|
|
