AP Photo/John Locher
This Aug. 13, 2014, file photo, shows an array of mirrors at the Ivanpah Solar Electric Generating site in Primm, Nev
- The US added more $4 than any other type of electricity in the first quarter of 2018.
- Solar accounts for 55% of all US electricity added so far in 2018.
- The number is evidence of a broader global shift: Investment in $4 for electricity is overtaking fossil fuels.
The US added more $4 than any other type of electricity in the first quarter of 2018.
According to $4 from the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA), a nonprofit group, the US solar market added 2.5 gigawatts of new capacity in the first three months of 2018, up 13% from the first quarter of 2017.
That accounts for 55% of all US electricity added in the first quarter of 2018, including fossil fuels and other forms of renewable energy.
"This data shows that solar has become a common-sense option for much of the US and is too strong to be set back for long," SEIA CEO Abigail Ross Hopper said in a statement.
The SEIA report notes that the bulk of the new solar capacity added comes from utility-scale projects, which are large installations that feed power into the grid. Non-residential solar, a category used when $4 switch their electricity source to solar power, was the second largest area of growth, according to the SEIA.
Shayanne Gal/ Business Insider
This growth comes despite $4 the Trump administration levied on imported solar panels earlier this year. The tariffs went into effect at the beginning of February, a change that some in the solar industry $4 would lead to a reduced demand for solar power.
After the tariffs went into effect, developers killed some $2.5 billion of solar installation projects, according to $4. Some US senators recently introduced a bipartisan bill $4, saying they "jeopardize tens of thousands of workers" who are employed installing and maintaining solar installations in the US.
In 2017, before the tariffs were implemented, it $4 to produce one megawatt-hour of electricity from solar power, according to an analysis from the investment bank Lazard. Coal, by comparison, cost about $102 per megawatt-hour to produce, the report calculated.
Rising US solar investment mirrors a larger global shift. In 2017, solar energy attracted $4, according to data from the United Nations Environment Program, outpacing nuclear and fossil fuels. China was by far the largest investor last year, sinking $126 billion alone into the renewable energy sector, according to a UN report.
Solar in 2017 was also the $4 electricity source globally, with 98 gigawatts added in 2017.
Shayanne Gal/ Business Insider