US utility solar pipeline soars to 37.9 GW, a new record 

Highlights from the latest U.S. Solar Market Insight Report 

The U.S. solar industry now has the largest pipeline of utility-scale solar projects in history, signaling promising future prospects for solar energy development.

According to the latest U.S. Solar Market Insight Report from Wood Mackenzie and the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA), the contracted pipeline has ballooned to a record 37.9 gigawatts (GW), the highest in the history of U.S. utility solar photovoltaics (PV). This follows record-high procurement of 15 GW in 2018. More than 6 GW of solar capacity were added to the five-year forecast since last quarter because of the uptick in utility-scale deals.

Surge in utility solar procurements

Utility solar project announcements surged to 11.2 GW in the first half of 2019, with 6.2 GW contracted in Q2 alone. 

According to the report, several utilities have announced large solar procurements and corporate off-takers such as Starbucks, Microsoft and Anheuser-Busch have also made major announcements.

In fact, off-site corporate solar procurement represents 17% of the new utility-scale solar capacity announced in 2019.