December 28, 2005—Shipment of solar thermal collectors in the United States jumped 23 percent last year, according to the latest government data.
The industry shipped 14.1 million square feet of collectors, despite a decline in the number of companies involved, explains the annual survey of manufacturers released by the Department of Energys Energy Information Administration. Domestic shipments rose to 13.3 million square feet, an increase of 22 percent over 2003, while exports rose 57 percent and imports increased 25 percent. The number of companies shipping solar collectors dropped from 26 to 24 between 2003 and 2004, the report explains.
Low-temperature collectors continue to dominate the market with a share of 96 percent, and almost three-quarters of all collectors were produced in the US with New Jersey, California, Florida, Puerto Rico and Hawaii accounting for three-quarters of that figure. New Jersey leads with 37 percent of all manufacturing, followed by California with 32 percent, while 26 percent of collectors were imported, mainly from Israel.
For more information, see the Department of Energy Web site.
