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Top 10 residential solar companies in 2021: Who bumped Tesla from third place?

Top 10 residential solar companies in 2021: Who bumped Tesla from third place?
Kyle Travis, left and Jon Jackson, with Lighthouse Solar, install microcrystalline PV modules on top of Kevin Donovan's town home. (Courtesy: Science in HD/Unsplash)

A California-based company passed Tesla in the Top 10 rankings for U.S. residential solar installers, according to a report from Wood Mackenzie.

Freedom Forever accounted for 3.9% of the U.S. residential solar market in 2021, enough to pass Elon Musk's Tesla for third place. Freedom Forever entered 12 new state markets and grew installation volume by 80% last year.

Wood Mackenzie research associate Caitlin Connelly said that Tesla has become "increasingly dependent" on subcontractors for residential solar installations as the company prioritizes its technology offerings. Tesla's residential solar market share is likely to decline over the next several quarters, Connelly said.

Sunrun maintained its status as the top residential solar installer in the U.S. for the fifth consecutive year, but again saw its market share shrink in 2021. Wood Mac attributed the decline to pandemic-related labor shortages.

The U.S. residential solar market grew by nearly 30% in 2021 with 4.2 GW of total new installations. The grow can in spite of pandemic, supply chain, and interconnection challenges.

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Top 10 residential solar companies in the U.S. (by market share)

Sunrun maintained its status as the top residential solar installer in the U.S. for the fifth consecutive year but again saw its market share shrink in 2021. Wood Mac attributed the decline to pandemic-related labor shortages. (Photo courtesy Sunrun)
  1. Sunrun - 13%
  2. Titan Solar - 4.8%
  3. Freedom Forever - 3.9%
  4. Tesla - 3.7%
  5. SunPower (includes Blue Raven acquisition) - 2.7%
  6. Momentum Solar - 2.2%
  7. Trinity Solar Power - 2%
  8. Palmetto Solar -1%
  9. Bright Planet Solar - 0.9%
  10. Freedom Solar Power (share not provided by Wood Mackenzie)