According to the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA), the US solar energy market has enjoyed a phenomenal year – adding 14,626MW of generation capacity in 2016. That’s an increase of 95% compared to 2015, which saw solar take the top spot in total energy additions in the US. While great news for environmentalists, the figures will make VCs and OEMs salivate, thanks to the huge potential impetus for smart grid investments. The growth now leaves solar at around 40GW of capacity total – across utility projects, residential installations, and the non-residential (community and commercial) projects. The SEIA says there are around 1.3m installations in the US. Due to the different distribution architectures required for accommodating renewables in utility grids, utilities…