Steve Martin, Phone Books and the Rise of Solar

There’s a great scene in the classic comedy “The Jerk,” where Navin Johnson, played by Steve Martin, jumps for joy when the new phone books arrive.

Screaming, “The new phone books are here! The new phone books are here!” Navin acts similarly to the way I act when the annual U.S. Solar Market Insight Report is released.

Published by the Solar Energy Industries Association, this report offers some of the best coverage on the state of solar in the U.S. I particularly like it, because ever since I’ve been reading this thing, it’s never been anything but good news. This year is no different.

Here are a few highlights:

• Solar photovoltaic installations increased by 41 percent in 2013 compared to 2014

• Solar was the second-largest source of new electricity generating capacity in the U.S.. Only natural gas was higher.

• Solar installation costs declined by 15 percent.

• More solar has been installed in the U.S. in the last 18 months than in the 30 years prior.

• The market value of all PV installations completed in 2013 was $13.7 billion.

And check out these charts:

Here’s what SEIA President and CEO Rhone Resch had to say. . .

“Today, solar is the fastest-growing source of renewable energy in America, generating enough clean, reliable and affordable electricity to power more than 2.2 million homes – and we’re just beginning to scratch the surface of our industry’s enormous potential. Last year alone, solar created tens of thousands of new American jobs and pumped tens of billions of dollars into the U.S. economy.”

If you’re a regular reader of these pages, you know I’ve long been bullish on solar, and have been helping individual investors make small fortunes in this space since 2005. The momentum in solar will continue to chug along nicely, and we intend to continue to profit from it every step of the way!

Now, for some comic relief. . .

Steve Martin, Phone Books and the Rise of Solar originally appeared in Green Chip Stocks. Green Chip Review is a free 2x-per-week newsletter, is the first advisory to focus exclusively on investments in alternative and renewable energies.