Trends in the market structure of US residential solar PV installation, 2000 to 2016: An evolving industry

O'Shaughnessy, Eric J.

doi:10.1002/pip.3030

Trends in the market structure of US residential solar PV installation, 2000 to 2016: An evolving industry

Journal Article · Mon Jun 11 00:00:00 EDT 2018 · Progress in Photovoltaics

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1002/pip.3030· OSTI ID:1478620

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National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Univ. of Wisconsin, Madison, WI (United States)

The US residential solar photovoltaic (PV) installation grew from fewer than 100 firms in 2000 to about 3000 firms by 2016. The rapid expansion of this emerging industry prompts questions about the installation industry's market structure, such as how market shares are distributed among installers and how interinstaller competition affects PV deployment. This article leverages a rich dataset to describe trends in the evolution of the US residential PV installation industry. The data show that most residential PV installers are relatively small companies, with about half of installers installing fewer than 5 systems. At the same time, a subset of high-volume installers have accumulated market share, especially from 2010 to 2016. Furthermore causes of this recent market concentration are explored, with an emphasis on the role of the emergence of alternative customer financing options in the United States.

View Accepted Manuscript (DOE)

Research Organization:: National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), Solar Energy Technologies Office (EE-4S)

Grant/Contract Number:: AC36-08GO28308

OSTI ID:: 1478620

Alternate ID(s):: OSTI ID: 1441223

Report Number(s):: NREL/JA--6A20-71337

Journal Information:: Progress in Photovoltaics, Journal Name: Progress in Photovoltaics Journal Issue: 11 Vol. 26; ISSN 1062-7995

Publisher:: WileyCopyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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