Popularity of US rooftop solar fizzles as utilities refuse to buy electricity

New York

ROOFTOP solar, which has surged more than 1,000 per cent since 2010, will barely grow at all next year.

Residential installations are expected to increase by 21 per cent this year, but in 2017 the figure will inch upwards by about 0.3 per cent. The change comes as utilities push back against mandates to buy the electricity and shifting tax policies curb demand. Throw in sliding electricity rates and it's clear the economic benefits of rooftop panels are no longer so obvious to consumers. That's forcing rooftop developers including Vivint Solar Inc, Sunrun Inc and Elon Musk-backed SolarCity Corp to focus on profitability instead of growth.

"Much like PC manufacturers in the 1990s, solar installers need to realise substantial new customer sales each year just to tread water in terms of annual revenue," Hugh Bromley, an analyst at Bloomberg New Energy Finance in New York, said. Residential installations are already slowing from the 79 per cent expansion in 2015. Developers are expected to add 2.76 gigawatts this year and that will inch upwards to 2.77 gigawatts in 2017 as investment slips 6.4 per cent to US$6.8 billion, according …