www.fueloilnews.com | FUEL OIL NEWS | APRIL 2016 19
U.S. solar market experienced a year-over-year
growth rate of 17%. Geographically, the market
continues to diversify with 13 states installing
more than 100 MW each in 2015. States that made
major solar strides include Utah, which jumped
in ranking from 23rd to 7th place, and Georgia
which moved from 16th to 8th in the nation.
The residential solar market grew 66% year-
over-year and, for the first time in history, eclipsed
two gigawatts (GW). The residential solar seg-
ment now represents 29% of the entire U.S. solar
market–its largest share since 2009.
For the fourth year in a row, the non-residen-
tial market broke the 1 GW mark, but remained
roughly flat year-over-year.
The utility-scale sector, the mainstay of
the U.S. solar market, grew 6% year-over-year
and represented more than half of all solar PV
installed in 2015.
Cumulative U.S. solar PV installations have
now topped 25 GW, up from just 2 GW in 2010.
SURVEY: NEARLY 50% OF SMALL
BUSINESSES OPERATE WITHOUT
A WEBSITE
Nearly half of small businesses in the U.S.
operate without a website, according to a new
survey of more than 350 small businesses
conducted by Clutch, a B2B research firm.
"Irrelevancy" to their business and "expense"
were the top reasons cited by most respondents
that do not have a website.
Despite these findings, website experts stress
that small businesses that do not have a website
should seriously consider developing one—even
the simplest, lowest-cost site consisting of one or
two pages—in order to have an online presence.
Moreover, mobile-friendly websites do not
appear to be a priority to small businesses, even
for those businesses that already have a website.
The survey found that 23% of existing small busi-
ness websites are not mobile-friendly. Another
9% of respondents said they did not know
whether their website had mobile capabilities.
Of small businesses that have a website, many
are planning improvements this year. The survey
findings revealed that search engine optimization,
social engagement, design and content develop-
ment are small businesses' top priorities in 2016.
Clutch analysts gathered more than 352 sur-
vey responses from small business owners and
managers throughout the U.S.
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