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The US residential solar market saw its fifth consecutive record for both customer additions and quarterly installations in Q2 of this year as high energy prices and inflationary pressures caused demand to spike.

The decision of US President Joe Biden to waive tariffs on solar imports from Southeast Asia for two years and authorise the US Department of Energy (DOE) to use the Defense Production Act (DPA) to accelerate the production of clean energy technologies, including PV modules and module components, has been broadly welcomed by the US solar sector and industry analysts.

The European Union’s REPowerEU strategy could be thwarted by higher material and module costs as a “perfect storm” looms over the sector following the pandemic, according to analysts Wood Mackenzie.

For years California, Texas and Florida have dominated the US solar market, but backed by the investment tax credit, strong state-specific renewables standards and falling costs, new states are coming to the fore. Molly Lempriere takes a look at what is driving them, and the hurdles they face if they are to challenge the ‘Big Three’.

After the International Energy Agency revised its renewables deployment forecast upwards by 25%, Liam Stoker looks at the difficult nature of forecasting a rapidly maturing sector amidst a changing landscape

US solar smashes quarterly deployment record as 8GWdc installed in Q4 2020.