© Thomson Reuters In Fort Lauderdale, crops are grown on solar panels.Author: Leila Kearney
(Reuters) - New US solar installations in 2022 fell 16 percent year-on-year to 20.2 gigawatts (GW), mainly due to limited availability of modules for some Chinese products, according to a market report published on Thursday.
A quarterly report by the Solar Association and research firm Wood Mackenzie revised its forecasts from earlier this year, predicting a broad market recovery going forward as the country's solar industry benefits from new climate laws and supply chains.
"Although 2022 was a challenging year for the solar industry, we expect some supply chain issues to improve, leading to an increase of up to 41% in 2023," said Michelle Davies, principal analyst at Wood Mackenzie and lead author of the report.
According to the report, solar installations hit 11.8 gigawatts year-on-year for the third straight year, the lowest level since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, last year's overall upward revision was the result of larger-than-expected projects in the last quarter of 2022.
On the other hand, the residential segment has grown by 40%: 700,000 homeowners will install solar panels on their roofs by 2022, the report said.
The report forecasts steady growth averaging 19% per year through 2027.
Boosting U.S. solar panel production will help boost profits, with production expected to nearly triple current levels to 25 GW by the end of this year, according to the report.
US President Joe Biden's Inflation Reduction Act, passed last year, helped stabilize financing prospects for solar installations by providing large subsidies for building renewable energy projects, the report said.
Increased availability of solar panels is expected to drive more installations this year after US solar panel restrictions in China's Xinjiang delayed projects amid forced labor concerns.
Reuters reported this week that Chinese imports of solar panels from the US are rising after months of restrictions under forced labor laws.
(Reporting by Leila Kearney; Editing by Sonali Paul)
