REC Group, the largest European brand of solar panels, grabbed the number-three slot among solar panel suppliers to the U.S. residential market during the first quarter of 2015, according to the most recent GTM Research U.S. PV Leaderboard report. The company also claimed the top position among module companies supplying the California residential sector.
REC saw its estimated share climb to 14% in the U.S. state residential markets sampled in the report, up from 6% in the fourth quarter of 2014 and 2.7% for the first quarter of 2014. For California, the Q1 2015 data showed REC with an estimated 22.5 megawatts (MW) of total installed capacity, ahead of the next competitor’s supply to the California residential market.
Despite the scheduled sunset of the Federal Investment Tax Credit (ITC) from 30% to 10% at the beginning of 2017, REC management believes the U.S. solar market will continue to see solid growth, especially in the residential and commercial sectors. Factors such as a variety of low-cost capital options for solar photovoltaic (PV) and ongoing system cost and soft cost reductions will offset the potential ITC-related effects on the market. The company is pursuing and signing major utility supply deals in the U.S. as well, since demand for REC’s high-quality, tariff-free panels remains robust.
“The latest GTM Research PV Leaderboard reflects REC Group’s impressive surge in the U.S. residential solar sector over the past several quarters,” said Steve O’Neil, CEO of REC Group. “Our overall U.S. business accounted for half of the company’s module shipments during the most recent quarter. The U.S. continues to be a strong market for us, with 818 MW of PV panels scheduled for delivery to REC’s residential, commercial, and utility customers in 2015 and 2016.”
The GTM Research U.S. PV Leaderboard combines detailed project-level data with survey data collected directly from installers and suppliers to produce the most comprehensive market share estimates available for the U.S. solar market. The report, published quarterly, provides national market share estimates for installers, panels and inverter manufacturers as well as selected state-by-state breakdowns.
REC Group will be showcasing its high-quality, tariff-free solar PV panel solutions in Booth 3505 at Solar Power International 2015, which takes place at the Anaheim (CA) Convention Center on September 15-17.
