NEW YORK (AP) — Solar panel installations in the U.S. grew 76 percent in 2012 as the cost of panels and the surrounding equipment continued to fall, according to an annual report by a solar trade group.

The U.S. installed panels capable of producing 3,313 megawatts of peak electricity, up from 1,887 megawatts in 2011, the report said. The panels installed last year will generate about the same amount of electricity over a year as a medium-sized coal plant, enough to power 400,000 U.S. homes.