U.S. installed solar capacity up 17 percent in 2008

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Installed solar power capacity in the United States rose by 17 percent to 8,775 megawatts in 2008, the strongest growth in a single year, solar advocate Solar Energy Industries Association said in an annual review issued on Friday.

It was the third straight year of record growth for the solar industry. It is widely expected that 2009 will be another record year. There are more than 6 gigawatts of concentrating solar power plants in the development pipeline, SEIA said.

“Despite severe economic pressures in the United States, demand for solar energy grew tremendously in 2008,” said Rhone Resch, SEIA president and chief executive

“Increasingly, solar energy has proven to be an economic engine for this country, creating thousands of jobs, unleashing billions in investment dollars and building new factories from New Hampshire to Michigan to Oregon,” said Resch.

Solar lags behind wind energy in terms of installed U.S. capacity. Wind energy grew in 2008 by 8,538 MW, more than the total installed solar capacity. The annual survey by the American Wind Energy Association issued in January showed total installed capacity of about 25,170 MW.

Reuters