The pipeline of solar photovoltaic (PV) projects awaiting completion within the US has grown by 7% during the past 12 months, and now exceeds 43GW, which is enough to power more than six million US households, according to Solarbuzz.
Whereas large projects in excess of 100MW previously dominated the US PV pipeline, growth is now being driven by smaller projects up to 30MW in size.
The growing project pipeline remains a key factor in driving the positive outlook for the US PV industry, which is now forecast by to become the third-largest solar PV market globally in 2014, after China and Japan.
"The increase in new solar PV projects being planned or under construction is driving double-digit annual growth forecasts for PV adoption within the US," said Michael Barker, senior analyst at NPD Solarbuzz. "Large-scale PV projects exceeding 20MW continue to dominate the pipeline, in terms of installed capacity, stimulated by state-based renewable portfolio mandates. Projects of all sizes have become increasingly viable, due to declines in solar PV system pricing in the past year."
Developers of solar PV projects in the US are now being forced to transition more quickly from "pre-planning" and "planning" stages to "under-construction" or "installed" status. This transition is motivated by deadlines to qualify for the full US Investment Tax Credit (ITC) of 30%, the firm said.
"With just three years remaining until the full tax credit incentive rate declines, solar PV project developers in the US are now planning to complete projects, or have a significant portion under construction, prior to the 2017 deadline," according to Christine Beadle, analyst at Solarbuzz. "This deadline is causing a shift in focus to smaller projects that can be completed on shorter timescales."
Currently, a few mega-scale PV projects, exceeding 100MW in size, are dominating short-term US solar PV deployment. These projects include the Mount Signal Solar, Copper Mountain, Calexico, Desert Sunlight, and Topaz projects that are currently under development or proceeding steadily through planned construction phases. The ten largest US solar PV projects account for more than 5GW of new solar PV capacity coming online during the next three years, the firm added.
However, the focus of solar PV project developers has now shifted to project sizes below 30MW. During the past 12 months, the number of projects in the US pipeline within this category has increased by 33% to more than 2,100 projects. Smaller PV projects have shorter planning phases and can be completed quickly.
