SolarCity deployed a record 78 MW during the third quarter of 2013, and expects to deploy more in the fourth quarter

SolarCity Corp. (San Mateo, California, U.S.) reports that its deployments of solar photovoltaic (PV) systems increased 43% sequentially to reach a record 78 MW during the third quarter of 2013, in a partial release of quarterly results.

The company expects to deploy a total of 278 MW during fiscal year 2013, which will mean another 101 MW of PV systems in the fourth quarter. This is more than SolarCity deployed in the first two quarters of 2013, and the company expects this rapid growth to increase again in 2014 to 475-525 MW of PV systems.

As of September 30th, 2013 SolarCity's cumulative energy contracts reached 72,506, with 82,235 customers. The company's estimated nominal contract payments were at USD 1.74 billion.

Geographic expansion key for solar as a service

While SolarCity's business continues to accelerate, the market for third-party solar has stabilized at 60-90% of residential installations in key U.S. state markets over the last year.

It remains to be seen how much of future market growth will come from overall market growth in these key markets, and how much will come from expansion into new states and other nations.