Home solar installations have held steady in the second quarter of 2018 after a 15% drop last year, according to the latest U.S. Solar Market Insight Report Wood Mackenzie Power & Renewables and the SEIA.
In the residential market, 577 megawatts were installed in the second quarter of the year, essentially flat on both a quarterly and an annual basis. Declines in previous quarters were less a symptom of the tariffs but instead a result of customer acquisition challenges and the scaling back of several large installers. The report points to the leveling out of the market as a sign that customer acquisition challenges may be subsiding.
The U.S. market installed 2.3 GWdc of solar PV in the second quarter of 2018, down 9% year over year, and 7% quarter over quarter. Utility (non-residential) solar procurements have risen significantly over the first six months of the year, with 8.5 gigawatts of new Solar PV announced in this timeframe.
Wood Mackenzie senior analyst Colin Smith attributes these results to last year’s tariff announcements on imported solar modules and cells, which have since proven to be lower than expected. He notes that module prices are currently at their second-lowest prices in history, even after the addition of a 30% tariff.
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