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					</table>The U.S. added 6.4 GW of small-scale solar capacity in 2022, which marks the highest annual growth ever recorded in the segment, according to a report by the <a href="https://www.eia.gov/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">U.S. Energy Information Administration</a>.
Small-scale solar, often referred to as distributed solar or rooftop solar, encompasses solar-power systems with a capacity of 1 MW or less. The majority of small-scale solar capacity in the U.S. resides atop residential buildings in the form of rooftop solar modules.
The report indicated that the journey began in 2014 when small-scale solar capacity in the country stood at a modest 7.3 GW. In 2022, the small-scale solar capacity has shot up to 39.5 GW, constituting nearly one-third of the total solar capacity.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter wp-image-58570 size-full" src="https://mercomindia.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Screenshot-2023-09-12-171821.png" alt="" width="808" height="415" srcset="https://mercomindia.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Screenshot-2023-09-12-171821.png 808w, https://mercomindia.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Screenshot-2023-09-12-171821-300x154.png 300w, https://mercomindia.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Screenshot-2023-09-12-171821-768x394.png 768w, https://mercomindia.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Screenshot-2023-09-12-171821-650x334.png 650w, https://mercomindia.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Screenshot-2023-09-12-171821-624x320.png 624w, https://mercomindia.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Screenshot-2023-09-12-171821-600x308.png 600w" sizes="(max-width: 808px) 100vw, 808px" />
Catalysts for Growth
Multiple factors have driven the expansion of small-scale solar capacity over the past decade. Tax credits, incentives, supportive public policies, and elevated retail electricity prices have provided fertile ground for this growth.
The decrease in the cost of solar modules has been equally significant, making renewable energy more accessible to the masses.
California has emerged as the leader in small-scale solar capacity, contributing 36% of the total. The state&#8217;s satisfactory sunshine, attractive incentives, and relatively high electricity prices have been pivotal in driving rooftop solar adoption.
California&#8217;s Net Energy Metering Program, which permits surplus electricity generated by rooftop solar panels to be fed back into the grid for credits, further incentivizes solar investments.
Starting in 2020, California mandated the installation of solar panels on newly constructed single-family homes and multifamily buildings up to three stories high.
Surprisingly, mid-Atlantic states with less year-round sunshine, namely New York and New Jersey, occupy the second and third positions in small-scale solar capacity. In recent years, sunny states like Texas and Arizona have been narrowing the gap.
The report noted the consistent and generous solar incentives offered by New York and New Jersey through longstanding state policies have been instrumental in fostering small-scale solar growth.
The EIA report said that it was essential to consider population-adjusted metrics to gain deeper insights into the prevalence of small-scale solar capacity within states. Although California boasts the highest overall small-scale solar capacity, it is Hawaii that leads in small-scale solar penetration, with 541W per capita.
Historically reliant on oil-fired power plants for a significant portion of its electricity, Hawaii faced high electricity bills due to expensive fuel imports.
However, as the costs of solar panels plummeted, many homes and businesses in Hawaii embraced solar energy. This transition not only reduced their electricity bills but also aligned with the state&#8217;s ambitious goal of generating 100% of its electricity from renewable sources by 2045.
According to a previous <a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/us-coal-capacity-fall-2050" target="_blank" rel="noopener">report</a> by the EIA, the capacity of coal-fired power plants in the U.S. could reduce by ~88% from the 2022 levels by 2050 as environmental regulations raise costs and new plants powered by natural gas and renewable energy displace the aging fleet.
Earlier in March, EIA <a href="https://mercomindia.com/wind-solar-batteries-power-capacity-us-2023/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">stated</a> that around 82% of the new utility-scale generating capacity planned to come online in the U.S. in 2023 will comprise wind, solar, and battery storage.

US Adds 6.4 GW of Small-Scale Solar Capacity in 2022: EIA Report

<a href="https://www.hawaiianelectric.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Hawaiian Electric</a>, a U.S. electric utility, said that it submitted eight projects, including 300 MW of renewable energy and nearly 2 GWh of storage capacity for approval to the Public Utilities Commission (PUC).
The new grid-scale energy and storage projects, including six projects on Oahu Island and two projects on Maui Island, are part of Hawaii&#8217;s largest renewable energy procurement.
The projects in Oahu are expected to generate and store enough clean energy to retire the state&#8217;s lone 180 MW coal project by September 2022.
The successful execution of Maui&#8217;s two renewable energy projects would help facilitate the retirement of the 38 MW oil-fired Kahului project in 2024. The successful completion of the projects is expected to reduce the electricity bill by approximately $1/month on Oahu and Maui.
The capacity of these projects varies between 7 MW and 120 MW, and the Kahana project on Maui Island has the lowest tariff price of $0.089/kWh.
<a href="https://mercomindia.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/Details-of-Solar-Energy-and-Storage-Projects-to-be-Developed-on-Oahu-and-Maui-Islands-in-Hawaii-1.png"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-21643" src="https://mercomindia.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/Details-of-Solar-Energy-and-Storage-Projects-to-be-Developed-on-Oahu-and-Maui-Islands-in-Hawaii-1.png" alt="Details of Solar Energy and Storage Projects to be Developed on Oahu and Maui Islands in Hawaii" width="634" height="469" srcset="https://cms.mercomindia.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/Details-of-Solar-Energy-and-Storage-Projects-to-be-Developed-on-Oahu-and-Maui-Islands-in-Hawaii-1.png 634w, https://cms.mercomindia.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/Details-of-Solar-Energy-and-Storage-Projects-to-be-Developed-on-Oahu-and-Maui-Islands-in-Hawaii-1-300x222.png 300w, https://cms.mercomindia.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/Details-of-Solar-Energy-and-Storage-Projects-to-be-Developed-on-Oahu-and-Maui-Islands-in-Hawaii-1-624x462.png 624w, https://cms.mercomindia.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/Details-of-Solar-Energy-and-Storage-Projects-to-be-Developed-on-Oahu-and-Maui-Islands-in-Hawaii-1-600x444.png 600w" sizes="(max-width: 634px) 100vw, 634px" /></a>
&#8220;As planned, these projects will significantly advance our state&#8217;s renewable energy transformation and benefit everyone by reducing our exposure to volatile oil prices,&#8221; said Jim Alberts, Senior Vice President of Business Development and Strategic Planning, Hawaiian Electric.
According to Hawaiian Electric, the company had 902 MW of solar projects on its five island grids, including the capacity of around 684 MW of solar energy from customer-sited rooftop solar systems, as of 2019.
Mercom earlier <a href="https://mercomindia.com/china-us-germany-india-installed/">reported</a> that the United States solar had installed 3.5 GW of new solar photovoltaic capacity in the second quarter of 2020, according to the Solar Energy Industry Association (SEIA). The installations dropped 6% compared to Q1 installations.
Notably, in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak, the Treasury Department and the Internal Revenue Service of the United States of America <a href="https://mercomindia.com/the-united-states-announces-tax-relief/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">announced</a> tax relief for taxpayers who have installed renewable energy projects.

Hawaiian Electric to Develop Nearly 300 MW of Solar Projects with 2 GWh of Storage Capacity

Renewable energy developer <a href="https://www.baywa-re.com/en/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">BayWa r.e</a>. announced that it acquired <a href="https://enable-energy.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Enable Energy Inc</a>. Enable Energy is a U.S.-based commercial and industrial solar and energy storage solutions provider.
The acquisition represents the latest move in BayWa r.e.’s growth and expansion strategy in the United States.  The company says it currently has 3 GW of renewable energy online while managing 8.3 GW of assets around the world.
BayWa r.e. currently has 750 MW of solar and wind projects under construction in California, North Carolina, Texas, and Mexico. It said that it was likely to surpass 1 GW of utility-scale installations in the Americas by the end of 2020.
The addition of Enable Energy will push BayWa r.e.’s total pipeline of solar and wind projects to more than 5 GW in the region. Enable will operate under its name for the time being and eventually be rebranded as a BayWa r.e. company.
The acquisition would help BayWa r.e. enhance its capabilities in serving enterprise commercial and industrial clientele and utilities with turnkey services.
Enable’s portfolio includes local and regional businesses, Fortune 500 companies, and federal government entities. The company has worked on a variety of projects in California, Hawaii, and other locations to build more than 76 MW of rooftop and ground-mounted commercial, industrial, and utility solar projects since the company was founded in 2014.
It also operates in the behind-the-meter and front-of-meter energy storage EPC sectors, with completed installations of over 70 MWh in 2019 alone.
“Enable Energy is one of the fastest-growing solar and energy storage solutions providers in the U.S., with a significant installation base, healthy project pipeline, and expanding O&amp;M (operation and maintenance) business. The addition of EEI to the BayWa r.e. Americas family will create multiple collaborative opportunities with our existing businesses. It will improve our position in strategic regional and vertical markets, such as commercial solar-plus-storage,” said Axel Veeser, Managing Director, BayWa r.e.
“By combining our U.S. commercial and industrial focus and extensive expertise with BayWa r.e., we will be able to execute on a significantly expanding project pipeline and leverage the strength of our new parent company’s resources and global brand. We look forward to expanding our geographic reach, building our relationships with strategic clients, strengthening our O&amp;M offering, working together with BayWa r.e.’s already the impressive team to support their global client base with facilities in the US,” said Brad Ferrell, CEO of Enable Energy.
Mercom recently <a href="https://mercomindia.com/sunrun-acquire-vivint-solar/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">reported</a> that in the largest rooftop solar acquisition to date, Sunrun decided to acquire Vivint Solar in an all-stock transaction for $3.2 billion. Vivint Solar serves as a full-service residential solar services provider in the United States, while Sunrun is a home solar, battery storage, and energy services company.
Notably, in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak, the Treasury Department and the Internal Revenue Service of the United States <a href="https://mercomindia.com/the-united-states-announces-tax-relief/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">announced</a> tax relief for taxpayers who have installed renewable energy projects. The IRS said that the relief had been provided because COVID-19 has caused industry-wide delays in the supply chain for components needed to complete renewable energy projects that are otherwise eligible for the investment tax credit.
Image credit: BayWa r.e.

BayWa r.e. Acquires Sacramento-Based Solar Developer Enable Energy

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