- Solar prices increase in all segments year on year.
- Solar is responsible for 56% of new U.S. electricity additions in H1 2021.
- The average annual addition of 29GW capacity is not enough to meet Biden’s 2035 targets.
The latest US Solar Market Insight report published by Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) and Wood Mackenzie this week shows that supply chain constraints lead to price increases across every solar market segment. According to the report, this is the first time (since Wood Mackenzie began modelling system price data in 2014) solar prices in all segments have increased quarter-on-quarter and year-on-year.
The utility-scale segment saw the largest price increase at 6 per cent year on year. The report notes that although many developers have enough inventory to complete projects in 2021, they will begin to see price increases next year.
Despite the supply chain issues, the U.S. solar industry was responsible for 56 per cent of new electric capacity additions in the first half of 2021, with 5.7 GW added in the second quarter alone. However, Wood Mackenzie estimates that the U.S. will average about 29GW of new solar capacity additions annually through 2026, short of the 80GW needed to meet President Biden’s 2035 clean energy targets.