The New Jersey Solar Market Hits 1 GW Mark for Total Installed Solar Capacity!

The New Jersey solar market hit a new milestone this week when it eclipsed the 1 gigawatt (GW) mark for total installed solar electric capacity. According to a new study released by SEIA this week, New Jersey now ranks third in the nation for solar energy installations, thanks to declining system prices and support from the state’s policymakers including its robust net metering policies and the U.S.’ first Solar Renewable Energy Credit (SREC) program, an innovative market-based incentive for solar generation. U.S. Solar Market Insight: Year-in-Review 2012, released by the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA®) and GTM Research, found that New Jersey was responsible for nearly one-third of the nation’s non-residential solar installations last year. In total, more than 415 megawatts (MW) of solar was added to the state’s power grid in 2012, a 33 percent increase over 2011 (313 MW). New Jersey’s solar industry is now providing both in-state jobs- on the order of more than 5,700- and much needed in-state electricity generation. Due in large part to the falling cost of solar for consumers, the market size of the U.S. solar industry grew 34 percent from $8.6 billion in 2011 to $11.5 billion in 2012. At of the end of 2012, there were 7,221 MW of PV and 546 MW of concentrating solar power (CSP) online in the U.S. — enough to power 1.2 million homes. New Jersey is now the third state in the nation to hit the 1GW solar mark and is the third largest state solar market by MW of PV installed in 2012, behind California and Arizona.

Source: SEIA news release- New Jersey Solar Market Hits 1 Gigawatt Milestone