New solar installations in the U.S. dropped 16 per cent to 20.2 gigawatts in 2022 from the prior year, largely because a ban on some Chinese goods limited the availability of panels, according to a market report released on Thursday.
"While 2022 was a tough year for the solar industry, we do expect some of the supply chain issues to ease, propelling 2023 growth to 41 per cent," said Michelle Davis, principal analyst at Wood Mackenzie and lead author of the report. The residential segment, meanwhile, rose by 40 per cent, with a record 700,000 homeowners installing rooftop solar in 2022, the report said.Helping to spur that upswing is a surge in solar panel production within the U.S., with output projected to nearly triple to 25 GW from the current level by the end of this year, the report said.