The United States Added 11.7 GW of New Photovoltaic Installations in The Third Quarter

    According to the "US Solar Market Insight Q4" report jointly released by Wood Mackenzie and the American Solar Industry Association, in the third quarter of 2025, the United States added 11.7 GW of new photovoltaic installations, representing a year-on-year increase of 20% and a month-on-month surge of 49%.

    As of the third quarter of 2025, solar energy accounted for 58% of the new power generation capacity added to the US grid, and the cumulative installed capacity had exceeded 30 GW. During the same period, solar energy and energy storage projects combined accounted for 85% of the new power generation capacity.

    The report attributes this wave of installation growth to the concentrated release of backlog projects. The report states that these projects were halted in the second quarter due to the "Reconciliation Act" and were completed in full this quarter, becoming a key factor driving the data. However, despite the excitement, the "tightness" in the industry has not subsided. In the third quarter, there were issues such as a shortage of photovoltaic modules, delayed deliveries, and labor shortages, which inhibited the continued expansion of the market.

    It is worth noting that domestic production capacity in the United States is accelerating its recovery. In the third quarter of 2025, the United States added 4.7 GW of new solar module manufacturing capacity, bringing the total capacity to 60.1 GW. Additionally, the new silicon wafer production line at the Corning factory in Michigan has officially started operation, enabling the United States to have the full solar manufacturing capability, covering core links such as polysilicon, silicon ingots, silicon wafers, battery cells, and modules. However, the actual production of these factories still cannot meet domestic demand.

    Details of equipment installation for each market segment are as follows:

    Residential solar market: In the third quarter of 2025, the new installed capacity was 1088 MWdc, a year-on-year decrease of 4% and a month-on-month decrease of 4%. Although the industry was eager to push project grid connection this year in order to obtain tax credit qualifications, the limited equipment supply restricted the growth of installed capacity.

    Commercial solar market: New installed capacity was 554MW DC, up 9% year-on-year and down 12% month-on-month. The Net Metering 2.0 (NEM 2.0) program in California continued to be connected to the grid, driving the state's installed capacity to remain stable. However, the growth trend driven by policies in this quarter has begun to weaken.

    Community Solar Market: In the third quarter, the new installed capacity of solar power was 267MW DC, a year-on-year decrease of 21% and a month-on-month increase of 12%. The related plans in New Mexico officially connected the first batch of projects to the grid this quarter, four years after their establishment.

    Large-scale ground-mounted photovoltaic market: New installed capacity reached 9.7 GW DC, up 26% year-on-year and a significant 68% month-on-month increase. All three states of California, Texas and Utah achieved installed capacities of over 1 GW. (This article is compiled from MERCOM. Please indicate the source when reprinting.)