%0 Report %A Mark Bolinger %A Joachim Seel %D 2016 %T Utility-Scale Solar 2015: An Empirical Analysis of Project Cost, Performance, and Pricing Trends in the United States %U https://emp.lbl.gov/utility-scale-solar/ %2 LBNL- 1006037 %X

This is an outdated version of an annual report series. You can find the new report, briefing material, data visualizations and data books at the project page: https://emp.lbl.gov/utility-scale-solar/ .

The utility-scale solar sector has led the overall U.S. solar market in terms of installed capacity since 2012. This report—the fourth edition in an ongoing annual series—provides data-driven analysis of the utility-scale solar project fleet in the United States. We analyze not just installed project costs or prices, but also operating costs, capacity factors, and power purchase agreement ("PPA") prices from a large sample of utility-scale solar PV and CSP projects throughout the United States.

Some of the more-notable findings from this year's edition include the following:

At the end of 2015, there were at least 56.8 GW of utility-scale solar power capacity in interconnection queues across the nation. The growth within these queues has come primarily from Texas and the Southeast, Central, and Northeast regions, which is a clear sign that the utility-scale market is maturing and expanding outside of its traditional high-insolation comfort zones of California and the Southwest.