"We applaud the Department of Energy (DOE) for its recognition of this important technology and for the Administration's continued commitment to solar energy."

WASHINGTON, DC – Rhone Resch, president and CEO of the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA), released the following statement today after reviewing the Department of Energy's new report, "2014: The Year of Concentrating Solar Power," which profiles five utility-scale concentrating solar power (CSP) plants and calls 2014 a "significant milestone in the history of American solar energy."

"We applaud the Department of Energy (DOE) for its recognition of this important technology and for the Administration's continued commitment to solar energy. Last year, the U.S. installed 410 megawatts (MW) of CSP, increasing total CSP capacity by more than 80 percent. As this report details, we can expect even more growth in 2014. The five CSP plants profiled in this report, which are expected to all be online by the end of the year, represent 1.252 gigawatts (GW) of solar capacity – enough to power 427,000 average American homes. As states gear up to reduce carbon emissions, CSP will play a huge role in producing more clean, renewable energy to power America.

"We also congratulate the SunShot program on its announcement of more than $10 million towards research and development of CSP technology. Smart public policies have already helped to create 143,000 American jobs in the solar industry, pumped tens of billions of dollars into the U.S. economy, spurred private sector innovation and investment, and helped fight climate change. Solar is the fastest-growing source of renewable energy in America, accounting for nearly 30 percent of new energy capacity in 2013, and we are pleased to join DOE in celebrating what is sure to be another record-setting year – with concentrating solar power playing an important part."