California Achieves 1 GW of Solar Energy Installed

More than one gigawatt (GW) of rooftop solar photovoltaic capacity has been installed in California, according to a recent report from the Environment California Research & Policy Center. Fueled by falling solar prices, California’s Million Solar Roofs Initiative is on track to achieve its goal of three GWs of installed solar capacity by 2016.

The Million Solar Roofs Initiative was designed to drive economies of scale in the solar industry, according to the report. Since the initiative began in 2007, the total installed cost of residential solar installations in California has fallen 25%, while the cost of commercial-scale systems has fallen more than 40%. The report notes that the cost declines were made possible in part by dramatic declines in the retail cost of solar panels, as well as many other significant improvements throughout the global solar value chain.

A Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA), GTM Research report released in March 2011 put California at the top of the list of US states for installed PV. The report said sixteen states each installed more than 10 MW of PV in 2010, up from only four in 2007. The top 10 states for PV installation in 2010 were: California, New Jersey, Nevada, Arizona, Colorado, Pennsylvania, New Mexico, Florida, North Carolina and Texas.