New Web-based Tool Allows Analysis of Trends in US Photovoltaic Installation


The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) has launched an interactive online tool to track and share information about photovoltaic solar installations in the United States. The Open PV Mapping Project allows for basic analysis of trends in the US PV market, and as it grows larger in size, will provide opportunities for deeper analysis of the spread of photovoltaics throughout the nation.

Open PV is the result of collaboration between government, industry and the general public.  It is “a living, breathing and dynamic database that people can use to explore the U.S. PV market in essentially real-time,” according to Christopher Helm, NREL Geographic Information System (GIS) developer and the project’s manager.  NREL is a national laboratory of the US Department of Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, and is managed and operated by the Alliance for Sustainable Energy, LLC.

States with PV incentive programs, large utilities and other organizations provided data to seed Open PV before its launch.  NREL hopes that the database will become more robust through the involvement of the PV community.

The solar industry’s two leading trade associations - the Solar Energy Industries Association and the Solar Electric Power Association - are promoting the tool among their members as a web-based resource for them to better understand the market and grow their businesses.

Contributors to the Open PV project are required to upload a minimum of four primary fields in order to add to the database:

1.    Date Installed (Completion date or interconnection date)
2.    Size/Capacity of the PV Installation (DC kW)
3.    Installation Location (Zip Code or Street Address)
4.    Total Installed Cost ($ - before incentives)

Open PV is currently tracking over 67,000 PV installations producing about 790 megawatts of electricity at an average cost of just over $8 per watt. The database is capable of storing a vast array of data associated with PV installations, which will allow for in-depth analysis, for example by location or over time, as more data is added by users.  This will allow counties and even zip code areas within states to compare PV statistics and track the progress of PV growth.  Check it out at openpv.nrel.gov
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