As New Jersey ‘shores up’ its PV capacity, California still set to lead USA in 2013

[jpak]

http://www.pv-magazine.com/news/details/beitrag/as-new-jersey-shores-up-its-pv-capacity--california-still-set-to-lead-usa-in-2013-_100009500/#axzz2ETlMnpfU

As New Jersey struggles to rebuild after the Frankenstorm that hit America’s East Coast during early November, a key part of the comeback plan for many home owners and housing developments will be installing back-up solar generation, either grid-tied or off-grid, which can provide power during future major outages. That means that California had better look to its laurels as the number-one state in 2Q 2012 in terms of installed solar capacity, with a current total of 217 megawatts (MW).

Once the dominant player in the United States on-grid PV market, California’s share had gradually declined until recently, as New Jersey and Arizona launched their own, aggressive initiatives to deploy solar photovoltaic (PV) systems and to diversify their energy portfolio.

However, according to the Solar Energy Industries Association, in the second quarter of 2012, California again led the nation in installed solar capacity, with a total of 217 MW; followed by Arizona, with 173 MW; and New Jersey, with 103 MW. Filling out the top-ten list (numbers four through ten) in descending order were Nevada, Texas, Illinois, North Carolina, Massachusetts, New Mexico, and Hawaii. New York came in at number 11.

What’s more, driven by a combination of policy initiatives, California is poised to sustain its newly regained dominant position in the U.S. solar PV market in 2013, according to new research from Santa Clara, California-based NPD Solarbuzz. “NPD Solarbuzz projects that California will regain its market share, after seeing declines in 2010 and 2011, and eventually hold more than half of U.S. market share in 2013, thanks to a variety of programs, policies, and regulations that cover the whole spectrum of the PV market including residential, non-residential, and utility segments,” commented Junko Movellan, senior analyst for NPD Solarbuzz.

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