Dec 9 (Reuters) – The U.S. solar industry installed 11.7 gigawatts of new solar capacity in the third quarter, a jump of 49% sequentially, a study by the Solar Energy Industries Association and Wood Mackenzie showed on Tuesday.
The report said solar accounted for 58% of all new electricity-generating capacity added to the U.S. grid through the third quarter, with more than 30 GW installed.
The rise follows a period of industry-wide disruption caused by the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA), with most of the gains driven by utility-scale solar projects that were largely completed in the second quarter, the report added.
The OBBBA requires projects to begin construction by July next year or enter service by the end of 2027 to qualify for a 30% tax credit and bonuses that can push the subsidy even higher, creating uncertainty for the solar and storage industries.
The pace of solar installations, however, did slow down in the quarter owing to industry constraints and supply chain bottlenecks. The residential segment was the most impacted with a 4% decline in the third quarter, compared to the same period last year.
Moreover, permitting delays remain a significant hurdle for new projects and, according to industry estimates, more than 117 gigawatts of solar and storage projects are currently stuck in the permitting process.
“Any such project in the country is subject to the red tape that the Interior Department has erected for solar … If they don’t have their final permits yet, the Interior Department red tape could hold them up,” said Sean Gallagher, senior vice president of policy at SEIA.
Gallagher added, “They’re not going to be able to come online unless the administration changes course on its policies that are prohibiting or delaying the construction of new energy facilities.”
The SEIA lowered its near-term outlook for 2025 and 2026 residential solar by 2% and 8%, respectively, adding that solar module availability is expected to remain tight through next year.
(Reporting by Pranav Mathur in Bengaluru; Editing by Alan Barona)
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