Trends in the market structure of US residential solar PV installation, 2000 to 2016: An evolving industry
- National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Univ. of Wisconsin, Madison, WI (United States)
Abstract 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. 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.
- Research Organization:
- National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), Renewable Power Office. Solar Energy Technologies Office
- Grant/Contract Number:
- AC36-08GO28308; DE‐AC36‐08GO28308
- OSTI ID:
- 1478620
- Alternate ID(s):
- OSTI ID: 1441223
- Report Number(s):
- NREL/JA-6A20-71337
- Journal Information:
- Progress in Photovoltaics, Vol. 26, Issue 11; ISSN 1062-7995
- Publisher:
- WileyCopyright Statement
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Web of Science
Similar Records
The Evolving Market Structure of the U.S. Residential Solar PV Installation Industry, 2000-2016
The Price-Concentration Relationship in Early Residential Solar Third-Party Markets