Source: Energy Information Administration
Analysis by CEC Economics
Highlights
- In California, small-scale solar PV net generation totaled 28,102 GWh in 2023, up 3,981 GWh or 16.5% from 2022. For the first time in 2023, small-scale solar PV net generation was more than half of California’s utility-scale solar PV total generation (47,869 GWh). In 2023, California accounted for 39% of small-scale solar PV net generation in the residential sector nationwide, 30% in the commercial sector, and 69% in the industrial sector (i.e., at industrial facilities). However, California’s share of small-scale solar PV has been gradually falling after peaking in 2018, when it accounted for 44.2% of nationwide.
- Small scale solar PV generation experienced a steady growth in both California and the U.S. Compared to 2022, generation in the commercial sector grew at a similar pace in California (+9.2%) as in the rest of the U.S. (+10.1%). However, generation in the residential and industrial sector grew faster in the rest of the U.S. than in California. Specifically, small scale solar PV net generation in the residential sector in California grew 20.9% while the rest of the U.S. grew by 29.2%. Net generation in the industrial sector for the rest of the U.S. grew by three times— up 5.7% in California and 17.4% in the rest of the U.S.
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