Solar is lighting the way toward a record-setting number of new installations in 2023. This latest data is from the US Solar Market Insight Q3 2023 report by the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) and Wood Mackenzie.
The amount of new solar capacity installed this year is expected to be 32 gigawatts (GW), per the report. This is an increase of 52% from the previous year.
SEIA president and CEO Abigail Ross Hopper said, “The solar and storage industry is delivering abundant clean energy that is generating tens of billions of dollars of private investment, and this is just the tip of the iceberg.”
The most recent growth in solar construction has been utility scale or residential, while commercial projects have slowed down slightly. SEIA attributes this to backlogs on project interconnections and on waiting for more details about federal tax credit adders for solar projects. Businesses stand to gain from generous incentives for solar called the Investment Tax Credit.
Meantime, with business leaders in Tennessee among those eyeing solar as a bottom line and clean energy solution, the state’s solar industry community is making plans to meet again this fall for the Tennessee Valley Solar Conference. The Tennessee Solar Energy Industries Association organizes the conference, which is set for October 18-19 in Chattanooga.
The conference announces: “The focus of the Tennessee Valley Solar + Storage Conference is to bring together people who are interested in growing solar business opportunities in the Tennessee Valley to discuss strategies, storage, market trends, and policies that impact the solar industry.”
Anne Brock is Marketing Coordinator for SolarAlliance.com, which offers start-to-finish solar project management, energy evaluations, and even continuing education Solar 101 classes for some professionals. Solar Alliance is a member of TenneSEIA. Brock can be reached at: 865-221-8349 abrock@solaralliance.com