What have you been doing for the past two and a half minutes? According to a recent study, within that short period of time, a new solar power system was probably added to a home or business in the U.S. After a long stretch of uninterrupted growth in the solar industry in this country, the rate of installation of new systems has now reached an unprecedented high.

According to a new report from solar experts GTM Research, the solar industry installed an average of one new solar PV system every 2.5 minutes in 2014 as a result of investments totaling over $15 billion. In 2013, the installation rate of one system every 4 minutes was notable enough for President Obama to mention it in his State of the Union address; now the rate is twice as high.

The number of new installations this past year was more than four times what it was four years ago in 2011, when only 50,000 new systems were installed. The new systems comprised about 200,000 residential installations and about 10,000 for commercial use. 

2015 and 2016 are expected to bring even greater growth to the renewable energy industry in this country. If the solar industry's current rate of growth continues, there will be 900,000 new solar power systems installed in 2015, and 1 million in 2016. By then, the rate of installation will have jumped to one system every one minute.

In the time that you've spent reading this article, another solar power system has probably been connected somewhere in the U.S. For advice on how to take advantage of energy efficiency upgrades in your own home, contact Alban Inspections today.