WASHINGTON, DC — “The U.S. solar photovoltaic (PV) industry continued its strong growth in 2011, despite the obstacles of an increasingly tough price-competitive marketplace, bankruptcies, and closings of several solar manufacturers. Total shipments of PV modules in 2011 hit a record high, increasing from 2,644,498 peak kilowatts (kWdc1 peak) in 2010 to 3,772,075 peak kilowatts (Figure 1 and Table 3). This represents a nearly 43-percent increase from 2010. Growth was spurred, in part, by declining PV cell and module prices (Figure 2 and Table 4) caused by competitive pressures. The solar Investment Tax Credit (ITC), and the 1603 Treasury Program 2 in particular, which was set to expire on December 31, 2011, also supported this growth. Consequently, the solar industry rushed to construct projects by the end of 2011 as the deadline for the grant program drew near.”
— U.S. Energy Information Administration
