The growth in the solar industry has been tremendous. But have you wondered just how much solar PV is there in the U.S.? Here are some astonishing facts for you:
The U.S. installed 3.8 gigawatts (GW) of solar PV capacity in Q3 2020 to reach 88.9 GW of total installed capacity. That is enough to power 16.4 million American homes. Residential installations increased dramatically from Q2 to Q3 after the shelter-in-place orders caused a large decline in the second quarter. Annual growth for all types of solar installations in 2020 (still being calculated) is projected to be 43%.
American solar power offsets over 70 million metric tons of carbon dioxide — that’s equivalent to planting 1.2 billion trees. And while much of the solar-generated power is from utility-scale projects, residential rooftop solar plays a huge role in offsetting the use of greenhouse gases. The average U.S. residential solar installation is about 5kW (or about 20 panels). By 2019, over 2 million U.S. homes had solar.
And it’s a worldwide trend. By the end of 2019, a cumulative amount of 629 GW of solar power was installed throughout the world.* Worldwide growth of photovoltaics is extremely dynamic and varies strongly by country. By the end of 2019, a cumulative amount of 629 GW of solar power was installed throughout the world.* By early 2020, the leading country for solar power was China with 208 GW, accounting for one-third of global installed solar capacity, and the U.S. in second place.
Is it time for you to get on the bandwagon and join the movement toward sustainability?