) systems. This was double the 435 MW installed in 2009 around the U.S.[16]
According to a 2011 survey conducted by independent polling firm Kelton Research, nine out of 10 Americans support the use and development of solar technology. Eight out of 10 respondents indicated that "the federal government should support solar manufacturing in the U.S. and should give federal subsidies for solar energy".[17] According to the Energy Information Administration, in 2010, subsidies to the solar power industry amounted to 8.2% ($968 million) of all federal subsidies for electricity generation.[18]
Solar Energy Industries Association and GTM Research found that the amount of new solar electric capacity increased in 2012 by 76 percent from 2011, raising the United States’ market share of the world’s installations above 10 percent, up from roughly 5 to 7 percent in the last seven years. [19]