U.S. solar market to top 440MW in ’09, says GTM Research: 50% annual growth through 2012
Despite the global recession and the particular impact this has had on the U.S. economy in 2009, GTM Research has forecasted record PV installations of 440MW this year, compared with 320MW in 2008. Significant growth is projected through 2012 with annual installed growth rates of 50%, reaching over 2GW of installations in 2012 alone. The market research firm expects ‘second-tier’ states will soon emerge to diversify the U.S. market out of California (50% of demand), leading to 50,000 new jobs and over US$6.1 billion in annual investments for the sector. “California will remain the largest PV market in the country, but downstream success is contingent on competing in the five to seven second-tier demand states that will emerge by 2012, each supporting over 40MW of annual demand,” noted Shayle Kann, Energy Analyst at GTM Research and co-author of the report. However, the market research firm warned that the complex mix of incentives and regulations that govern growth in these new state m...