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U.S. Solar Power Installed Capacity Increased by 684 MW in the Third Quarter
International Energy Network News: A report jointly released by the American Solar Energy Industry Association and GTM Research Company on the 11th showed that in the third quarter of 2012, the installed capacity of solar power generation in the United States increased by 684 MW, an increase of 44% over the same period last year.The report said that the scale of newly installed solar power generation in the quarter reached the third highest level in history, lower than the 775.1 MW in the second quarter, but the installed capacity of residential solar power generation exceeded 118 MW, reaching the highest quarterly level in history. Government or corporate solar power generation The installed capacity reached 257 MW, an increase of 24% month-on-month.
The report also said that as of the current quarter, the total installed solar power capacity in the United States was 6,400 megawatts, enough to support the electricity needs of more than 1 million households.
In the first three quarters of this year, the United States added 1,992 megawatts of solar power installed capacity, which has exceeded the 1,885 megawatts in the whole of last year. The report believes that the installed capacity of solar power generation in the fourth quarter of the past two years accounted for more than 40% of the whole year. It is expected that the United States will also add 1,200 megawatts in the fourth quarter of this year.
Benefiting from the large number of cheap solar cells and components provided by Chinese manufacturers, the cost of solar power equipment in the United States continues to decline. Compared with the previous quarter, the cost of residential solar power equipment dropped from US$5.45 per watt to US$5.21 per watt, the cost of government or corporate solar equipment dropped from US$4.33 per watt to US$4.18 per watt, and the cost of power plant solar equipment dropped even further. $2.40. Rona Resher, president of the Solar Energy Industries Association, said solar power is becoming more affordable as costs continue to fall.
There are 5,600 solar energy companies in the United States, located in all 50 states, most of which are small businesses with 119,000 employees.
