According to the Solar Energy Industries Association, the solar photovoltaic market in the US continues to expand. In 2010, 887 MW of grid-connected photovoltaic (PV) capacity were installed, doubling the capacity installed in 2009. In Q2 2011 grid-connected PV installations in Q2 reached 314 MW for a total installed capacity of 2.7 GW. California and New Jersey lead the country in PV installation.
The US market in the first half of 2011 is rapidly changing. PV module prices decreased precipitously across the country, on average 30% so far this year, but at the same times incentives also decreased in many locations. Overall the drop in prices is expected to drive demand in the second half of 2011 leading to a doubling of capacity installed in 2011 compared to 2010.
Domestic manufacturing capacity is increasing. There are about 50 facilities manufacturing PV polysilicon and components (wafers, cells, modules, inverters) in 21 states in the US. Many of these plants are located in California, Oregon and Arizona, but also in Massachusetts, Maryland, New York, and New Jersey. There appears to be increasing manufacuring capacity in the Midwest at the expense of the Eastern seaboard, which has seen a total of five plant closures in the last year and a half.
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