U.S. Solar Industry: Market Trends And Opportunites

SUMMARY OF MAJOR FINDINGS
The $2.6 billion (manufacturers’ dollars) U.S. solar industry has experienced strong growth over the past five years. Demand soared due to improved photovoltaic technologies and lower prices; sharp increases in competing energy costs, and the expansion of government and financial incentives. This resulted in a 55.0% industry compound annual growth rate. The sharpest gains in industry sales were made to commercial and government building owners and electric utilities, while competitors increased sourcing from foreign plants. Currently, demand has leveled off due to the recession and credit crisis. This caused sharply lower PV prices as material costs dropped and competitive pressures intensified. It also adversely impacted solar industry manufacturer profit margins. Lower PV prices, however, is making solar energy more competitive with purchased electricity, especially in high energy cost states such as California and New Jersey. Lower prices will also stimulate future growth as the economy rebounds and government requirements cause consumers to turn to renewable energy sources.

SOLAR INDUSTRY MARKET TRENDS
Catalina Research has uncovered these trends in our 167-page in-depth report on the U.S. solar industry. U.S. shipments, imports, exports, and price trends are evaluated for photovoltaic cells and modules and solar thermal collectors. Data is also segmented by technology. PV trends are segmented for crystalline silicon, thin-film, and concentrator silicon technologies; and solar thermal collectors for low-, medium-, and high-temperatures. Data is also provided for complete systems.

U.S. SHIPMENTS AND INTERNATIONAL TRADE
The market is also segmented by source of supply. The report analyzes domestic plant shipments and imports. Import data is provided by solar technology and by major country of origin. Prices are compared for domestically produced and imported PV products. Similar data is provided for export shipments. In addition, this section reviews the various solar technologies employed and recent technical innovations.

END-USE MARKETS AND DISTRIBUTION
U.S. solar sales are broken out by end-use market and distribution channel. The photovoltaic data is segmented for grid-interactive and remote applications. Markets include commercial, government, industrial, and residential buildings; electric utilities; transportation; water pumping, communications, and other users. Solar thermal collector uses include pool, hot water, and space heating. Purchases are further analyzed by state. The report also investigates sales to installers, wholesalers, retailers, and directly to end-users.

U.S. SOLAR ENERGY CONSUMPTION AND FACTORS AFFECTING DEMAND
Catalina has analyzed solar energy output/consumption and calculated the installed based of U.S. photovoltaic capacity. Output/consumption is provided for residential and nonresidential buildings and electric utilities. This section also provides data on factors driving domestic demand including the production, consumption, and cost of competing energy sources. Electricity sales and costs were also tracked. An analysis of energy costs by household income and region and state also provide a guide to regional sales potential. In addition, Catalina reviewed government and financial incentives that have enhanced solar energy cost competitiveness.

SOLAR INDUSTRY PROFITABILITY AND THE COMPETITIVE ENVIRONMENT
Catalina analyzed the financial trends of 29 global solar industry manufacturers. From this base of data, Catalina compiled data on worldwide PV production capacity and research and development spending. Catalina also extracted these company’s U.S. sales and calculated the market share for the top ten suppliers. As part of this process, Catalina profiled 14 leading U.S. suppliers of photovoltaic products and three leading suppliers of photovoltaic manufacturing equipment. Company profiles cover product lines, and technology, manufacturing and distribution, acquisitions and capital investments, and sales and profit trends.