The Top 10 Solar States: You May Be Surprised
Written By: Leone Kaye of our Affiliate Triple Pundit
The clean energy sector has been on an economic roller coaster the past several years, but despite entrenched interests, questions about efficiency and costs, renewables are on the upswing in the U.S.
That includes solar power, which is experiencing a surge in installations large and small—witness SolarCity’s success in recent years. Of course, the regulatory environment has a lot to do with how solar is spread.
So to that end, the writers at Solar Power Rocks, a clearinghouse of solar information from rebates to technology, recently ranked the U.S. states and the District of Columbia. The top 10 solar states may just surprise you—unless you live there and you have seen what is going on in your local community.
In order to gauge the winners and laggers on the solar power front, Dan Hahn and Dave Llorens, the brains behind Solar Power Rocks (SPR), looked at a bevy of factors, including each states renewable portfolio standard (RPS), the cost of electricity, rebates and credits related to solar, tax exemptions and regulations related to grid connectivity.
The top three, and five of the top 10 are in the northeast. New York comes out at #1, due to its wide array of financial incentives available to install solar, and what SPR describes as the “most aggressive RPS in the country.” Massachusetts and Connecticut, however, are not far behind, because of the Bay State’s fast payback time and CT’s generous solar rebates.
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