News from the just ended Solar Power International conference in Los Angeles, is that in 2010, "the U.S. solar electric market, including both photovoltaic (PV) and concentrating solar power (CSP) installations, could achieve a major milestone by surpassing 1 gigawatt of installed capacity in a year for the first time," according to Renewablesbiz.com. This would be a 114% increase over 2009's installations.
This includes 866 megawatts of photovoltaic (PV) and 79 megawatts of concentrated solar power (CSP). Arizona was 3rd among states for solar energy capacity installed in the first half of the year, behind California and New Jersey (!!). [right, Arizona solar energy farm. Credit, Arizona Solar Industries Association]
The U.S. Solar Market Insight report says we could see 15 gigawatts installed per year by 2015.