U.S. reaches 5 million solar installations

SAN ANTONIO — In the past eight years, the number of business and residential solar systems installed across the U.S. jumped 400%. That rapid growth has caused the U.S. to mark a monstrous solar milestone.

Five million homes and businesses in this country are now using solar. And Texas ranks second in the nation for solar capacity, only being topped by California. Abigal Ross Hopper, the Solar Energy Industries Association CEO added, “The first installation was built in 1973, and it took us 40 years to go from one to one million. And then it only took eight years to go from one million to five million.”  

And the forecasts double the number of installations from five to 10 million in just the next six years. Hopper told us, “We talk a lot in this country and certainly a lot in Texas about the future of our energy system. What kind of technologies are going to be important? And I think that that rapid growth shows you that solar is going to be a really critical piece of this portfolio.”  

New data from SEIA shows right now there are over 274,000 solar installations in Texas. The industry has added thousands of jobs and nearly $28 billion into the state’s economy. And right now there is enough solar installed in Texas to power 2.6 million homes every year. Hopper said, “Texas is a huge player in the solar market. Obviously, your state is well known for being the energy capital of this nation. The prices have come down dramatically in the last few years. And so even if you got a quote five years ago, we’re going to have a very different quote if you look now.”