Many companies report that although consumers continue to express interest in solar, concerns about personal finances and tight credit have reduced sales, SEIA said.
A grant program established by stimulus package passed in 2009 will allow some solar customers to receive a cash payment covering 30% of the cost of installing solar equipment.
The stimulus law also authorizes the US government to guarantee loans for solar and other renewable energy projects.
This should help alleviate recent constraints on project financing, SEIA said.
SEIA President Rhone Resch said that the first quarter of 2009 has been brutal for the solar industry, although he could not provide any specific numbers for the sector.
President Barack Obama has asked to double renewable energy production in three years. Resch said that the solar industry can absolutely meet this mandate, but only if Congress takes action.
That is going require a substantial ramp up in the use of solar and that doesn’t just happen organically, Resch told reporters at a briefing on the report.
In addition to the tax credits and stimulus measures, Resch said that lawmakers must establish a renewable energy portfolio that requires electricity providers to generate a certain amount of power from renewable sources.
Resch said such a standard should include provisions that support solar energy use.
No solar power plants came on line in 2008 and Resch expects only two or three to be built in the next three years. He said much of the short-term growth for solar energy capacity will come from solar panel installations.
