US installed more solar power than gas in 2015

The US installed more solar power capacity in 2015 than new gas capacity, according to a report by Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF).

The Sustainable Energy in America Factbook, launched on Thursday, claims that 6.0GW of natural gas power was connected compared to 7.3GW of solar and 8.5GW of wind. A record 11GW of coal power was retired and another 3GW of planned closures announced.

According to the report, 4.4GW of utility-scale solar was installed, up from 4.1GW in 2014. No new concentrating solar power capacity was came online compared to 1GW in the prior year.

Small-scale solar totalled 2.9GW with 1.7GW of residential and 1.2GW of commercial-scale installs.

The cost per Watt of utility-scale solar in the US was put at US$1.33 with the module accounting for US$0.60. Residential PV costs fell to US$1.84 with the module making up US$0.63.

The report was produced in partnership with the Business Council for Sustainable Energy.

Tags: usa, us, bnef, cost declines