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The global operations & maintenance market for plants of more than 1 megawatt will reach 146 gigawatts in 2017.

The solar industry traditionally focuses on counting the new megawatts that are being installed. But when it comes to the business of operating and maintaining power plants, it is the cumulative installed capacity that matters, as these systems are expected to produce energy for a lifespan of twenty to 25 years, if not more.

In a new report, Megawatt-Scale PV Plant Operations and Maintenance: Services, Markets and Competitors, 2013-2017, GTM Research and SoliChamba Consulting estimate that the the global O&M market will be at 40.8 gigawatts by the end of 2013, and forecast a spectacular run of growth exceeding 100 gigawatts in the next four years. This will bring the total O&M market size to 146 gigawatts in 2017. In comparison, the Energy Information Administration reports that the U.S. currently runs 305 gigawatts of coal-fired power plants.

What this means: megawatt-scale solar PV plant O&M is quickly becoming a real business on a global scale.