Carport Market Expected To Reach $843 Million By 2016

According to the latest report from GTM Research, U.S. Solar Carport Market 2014-2018: Landscape, Outlook and Leading Companies, the U.S. is forecasted to add over 180 MW of solar carports in 2014, making it the fourth consecutive year with more than 100 MW installed.

“The U.S. solar carport market has historically been driven by solar incentives dedicated to government and educational entities coupled with physical and regulatory limitations for rooftop systems for these customers,” says report author Scott Moskowitz. “With the average system price of solar carports continuing to fall, commercial solar developers can offer increased value to customers in the form of larger project sizes and greater electricity savings.”

U.S. Solar Carport Market Installations, 2010 to 2018

The report notes that solar carport installations in California have historically represented over half of the national market with lower penetration levels nationwide. While California will continue to anchor the national market, new state markets on the east coast are emerging despite higher costs. GTM Research expects continued growth in California, along with market recoveries in Arizona and New Jersey, to drive the market value of solar carports to $843 million in 2016.

The promising market opportunity has led to an increasingly crowded U.S. solar carport vendor landscape with pure play carport manufacturers and vertically-integrated developers competing with new entrants from traditional PV mounting solution suppliers.

“The vendor and developer landscape for PV carports is growing more complex as companies optimize their strategy to meet a challenging pricing environment,” says Moskowitz. “In general, developers are moving away from vertical integration to tap into lower cost structural suppliers and vendors are increasing their scope of services to combat falling pricing.”