New report ranks top 10 states leading the U.S. in solar power

Environment America

Washington, D.C. –   Solar electric power tripled in the U.S. between 2011 and 2013 and ten states are responsible for 87% percent of that growth; according to a new report,  Lighting the Way: The Top Ten States that Helped Drive America’s Solar Energy Boom in 2013. The report analyzes the amount of solar power installed through 2013 and reviews the policies that responsible for solar’s success.  Ten states – Arizona, California, Colorado, Delaware, Hawaii, Massachusetts, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico and North Carolina – possess strong policies that are enabling increasing numbers of homeowners, businesses, communities and utilities to “go solar.”  

“Solar energy is emerging as a go-to energy option,” said Rob Sargent, energy program director with Environment America. “Thanks to the commitment of state and federal leaders, this pollution-free energy option is poised to play a major role in helping us meet our energy needs while achieving our emission reduction goals; including the targets in EPA’s recently proposed Clean Power Plan.”

Solar in the United States increased more than 120-fold in the last 10 years. In the first quarter of 2014, solar energy accounted for 74 percent of all the new electric generation capacity installed in the United States.  Ten states are responsible for 89% of the solar installed in the U.S, while, representing only 26 percent of the population and 20 percent of the electricity consumption.

“Environment America’s new report rightly points out that smart public policies have been key to the development of clean, renewable solar energy – and the accompanying 143,000 America jobs and nearly $15 billion in annual investment,” said Rhone Resch, president and CEO of the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA). “The 14,800 megawatts (MW) of solar currently installed in the United States can generate enough pollution-free electricity to displace 18 billion pounds of coal – that’s a win for state economies, Americans’ health and our environment. We applaud the 10 states detailed in this report and urge policymakers across the nation to look at net metering and renewable energy standards in helping their states catch the solar wave as well.”

And as the solar industry grows, the cost for installed solar decreases, making it more accessible. The price of installed solar systems fell 60 percent between the beginning of 2011 and the end of 2013. Jobs in the solar industry are also growing rapidly. In 2013, there were more than 140,000 solar jobs in the U.S.

The report emphasizes that it is not availability of sunlight that makes states solar leaders, but the degree to which state and local governments have created effective public policy for the development of the solar industry. States with more homeowners and businesses “going solar” share these strong policies:      

“Encouraging solar power is the right thing to do for the environment and our economy,” said Governor Jack Markell of Delaware, a top 10 solar state. “We are aggressively working toward a clean energy future in Delaware, demonstrating we can have both a strong economy and a healthy environment. That means creating a robust market for solar and other clean energy systems, creating clean energy jobs, expanding our solar industry, and improving air quality.”

The report identified the strong solar policies that top ten state had in common; including:

• 9 states have strong net metering policies. In nearly all of the leading states, consumers are compensated at the full retail rate for the excess electricity they supply to the grid.
• 9 states have strong statewide interconnection policies. Good interconnection policies reduce the time and hassle required for individuals and companies to connect solar energy systems to the grid.

All 10 states have renewable electricity standards that set minimum requirements for the share of a utility’s electricity that must come from renewable sources, and 8 of them have solar carve-outs that set specific targets for solar or other forms of clean, distributed electricity.

• 9 states allow for creative financing options such as third-party power purchase agreements, and 8 allow property assessed clean energy (PACE) financing.

Federal programs, including critical tax incentives and programs like the Department of Energy’s Sunshot Program; designed to drive down the cost of solar, also play an essential role in solar progress.  Additionally, EPA’s recently proposed Clean Power Plan, designed to reduce carbon pollution from power plants, could be an important driver for investing in pollution-free energy, like solar. 

“The solar progress we’ve seen to date is the result of a partnership between local, state and federal officials,” said Sargent.  “States looking to expand solar can look to the example of the leading solar who’ve have put strong programs in place and have coordinated with federal officials in order to succeed.”

The report also highlighted several noteworthy emerging states including:  

• New York; which ranked 9th in the nation in 2013 and has expanded its expanded its New York SUN program.
• Georgia; which saw a more than 3-fold increase in solar in 2013; after state regulators require the state’s largest utility to construct or procure 525 MW of solar energy capacity by the end of 2016.