California’s solar panel market showed solid growth in the first quarter of the year, but financing remained hard to get for many homeowners.
Solar installations were up 43.5 percent in the first quarter in California.
California’s market is the most developed in the U.S. and steady growth here is a signal that other markets, particularly New Jersey and Florida, could follow suit.
According to an analysis of data from the state-funded California Solar Initiative, solar installations in the state rose 43.5 percent in the three months. This comes despite declining state incentives, says FBR Capital Markets analyst Mehdi Hosseini, who crunched the numbers. The greatest growth was in the San Diego area, where installations have lagged northern sections of the state.
And yet, applications for new residential solar systems were soft, increasing just 28 percent. The soft economy and the difficulty with higher credit requirements explain the weakness, says Hosseini. Large commercial projects also suffer from a lack of credit, continuing a trend from last year, he said.
On the other hand, utilities such as PG&E have shown an appetite to finance residential projects, as have some banks, such as U.S. Bank, suggesting a change a foot in financial markets.
SunPower continued to be the largest seller of modules in California. However, China’s SunTech took over the number two spot from Sharp. On the whole, SunPower, Sharp, Japan’s Kyocera, and number one worldwide solar cell maker First Solar all lost share as Chinese and other Asian module makers shifted their focus from Europe and channeled low-price product to California and the U.S. market.
