Title of Dissertation: national renewable energy policy

 
Figure 21. 
U.S. electricity generation capacity additions, 2007-2014. 
 
Source: Electric Power Annual 2014; 2013; 2012; 2011; 2010; 2009; 2008; 2007, U.S. 
Energy Information Administration. 
The total PV installation in 2015 was more than seventy times of the installation 
in 2005. As Figure 20 shows, the solar installation has started taking off around 2010. In 
2011, 1,919 MW of solar systems were installed, which represents 109 percent growth 
over 2010. Since then, PV installation showed sharp growth. Solar installations 
skyrocketed in 2012. The utility market especially has grown tremendously with the 
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and Photovoltaic
Wind
Natural Gas
Petroleum
Coal

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increase of large-scale projects. In 2011, 28 projects over 10MW were installed, up from 
8 projects in 2010. While the share of the utility market was about 1 percent of the total 
PV installations in 2005, the share has increased to 57 percent in 2015. 
Figure 22. 
U.S. PV installation by segment, 2000-2015.
Source: U.S. Solar Market Insight Report: 2013 Year-in-Review; U.S. Solar Market 
Insight Report: 2014 Year-in-Review; U.S. Solar Market Insight Report: 2015 Year-in-
Review. 
Decreasing system costs have driven the growth of solar PV installation. As for 
the utility, the average installed PV system price has dropped to $1.3/W in 2015 from 
$3.2/W in 2011. This was possible due to the reduction of the costs of the solar products. 
The prices of wafers, cells, and modules significantly decreased during 2010-2012 
(Figure 23). Moreover, the competition among companies has been a driver of cost-down 
by introducing more efficient installation practices, optimization of logistics, and more 
aggressive bidding. 
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Non-residential
Utility

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