Summit Ridge Energy’s Somerset project has a capacity of 6.7MW. Image: Summit Ridge Energy

As the US looks to decarbonise its energy mix, solar has emerged as one of the most high-potential power sources in the country. A report from the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA), the sector’s trade body, and research firm Wood Mackenzie, found that, at the end of 2022, the US solar sector had installed 142GW of capacity, and the companies expect the sector to add an additional 236GW of new projects by the end of 2028.

This optimism seemed well-placed in the first quarter of the year, with the SEIA and Wood Mackenzie noting that the US solar sector added 6.1GW of new capacity in the first three months of 2023, a 47% increase from the first quarter of the previous year, making it the best first quarter for new capacity additions in industry history.

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