Solar Panel Roof
The looming expiration of a key solar-energy tax credit is driving a surge in solar projects across the country. The U.S. solar sector this fall saw its second-largest quarter for new installations as developers rushed to tap the federal incentive before it lapses in 2016, an industry report released Tuesday found.
The U.S. installed 1,354 megawatts of solar photovoltaic projects in the third quarter of 2014, a more than 40 percent jump from the same period last year, according to a joint analysis by the Solar Energy Industries Association, the sector’s main trade group, and GTM Research. The country now has about 17,500 megawatts of solar capacity in place, or enough to power up roughly 2.8 million average American homes. . . .
