TOP 20 CITIES FOR SOLAR
20. Newark, NJ
Newark has developed the largest share of its small building rooftop solar PV potential at 14.3 percent.
19. Jacksonville, FL
The Jacksonville Solar Farm generates about 24,300 megawatt-hours of electricity a year — equal to about what 1,450 households consume — avoiding approximately 22,430 tons of greenhouse gas emission annually.
18. Washington, D.C.
The District of Columbia has adopted a renewable portfolio standard (RPS) requiring that 50 percent of its electricity come from renewable sources by 2032, including at least 5 percent from solar energy. Only four states have set higher RPS requirements.
17. Portland, OR
Portland could accommodate at least 2,000 megawatts of solar PV capacity on their rooftops.
16. Austin, TX
In addition to the 31 megawatts of solar PV capacity installed within Austin, the 30 megawatt Webberville Solar Farm just outside of the city also supplies energy to Austin residents.
15. Riverside, CA
Riverside rose to 9th place in per capita solar PV capacity, up from 20th place in 2014
14. New Orleans, LA
New Orleans is a regional leader in per capita solar PV capacity in the South Central region, at 95 watts per person.
13. Sacramento, CA
Sacramento is in 10th place for per capita solar PV capacity, with 81.4 watts installed per person.
12. Denver, CO
Denver comes in 12th place for total solar PV capacity, with 45 megawatts of solar PV installed.*
*Based on 2015 data
11. San Francisco, CA
San Francisco now requires all new buildings to be constructed with solar systems installed.
10. Las Vegas, NV
The Las Vegas city government now gets 100 percent of its energy from renewable sources.
9. Albuquerque, NM
Albuquerque ranked 16th in the nation in solar PV capacity per capita in 2014. Now it’s among the top five.
8. San Antonio, TX
San Antonio could accommodate more than 6,000 megawatts of solar PV capacity on city rooftops alone.
7. New York, NY
New York is opening the solar energy market to apartment dwellers and others unable to install solar panels on their own roofs through Power Purchase Agreements that allow residents to purchase shares of solar power from other electric utility accounts.
6. Indianapolis, IN
Indianapolis is a regional leader in solar PV capacity in the Midwest.
5. Phoenix, AZ
Phoenix has been among the top five solar cities in all four editions of this report.
4. San Jose, CA
San Jose is among the top five cities for solar PV capacity installed per capita, at 169.1 watts per capita.
3. Honolulu, HI
Honolulu has the most solar PV capacity installed per capita, with 175 watts per person.
2. Los Angeles, CA
Los Angeles was the national leader in solar PV capacity for the past three years, only to be outpaced by San Diego in 2016.
1. San Diego, CA
San Diego is number 1 in installed solar PV capacity at 303 megawatts, but has developed less than 14 percent of its small building rooftop solar PV potential capacity.
Cities And Communities Can Lead The Way
America’s major cities play a key role in the clean energy revolution and stand to reap tremendous benefits from solar energy. They are major sources of electricity demand and, with millions of rooftops suitable for solar panels, they have the potential to be major sources of clean energy as well.
Cities helped solar power grow at a record-breaking pace in 2016
The United States now has 42 gigawatts (GW) of solar photovoltaic (PV) energy capacity, enough to power 8.3 million homes and reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 52.3 million metric tons annually.
Even top solar cities still have vast amounts of untapped solar energy potential
San Diego has developed less than 16 percent of its technical potential for solar energy on small buildings.
Top U.S. cities for solar
America’s top solar cities have adopted strong pro-solar public policies and taken other important steps to advance solar energy
Leading by example: The city government of Las Vegas now receives 100 percent of its energy needs from renewable sources, including a total of 6.2 MW of solar electric capacity. Solar energy systems are installed on 40 public buildings, including community centers, fire stations and parks. A 3.3 MW solar plant also provides power for the city’s wastewater treatment plant. Cities that invest in solar power on public buildings not only save money on electricity, but they also demonstrate the value of solar energy to their residents.
U.S. cities have only begun to tap their solar energy potential.
Cities such as Los Angeles, New York, Chicago and San Antonio have the technical potential to generate tens to hundreds of times more solar energy than they currently do, according to a National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) analysis of technical rooftop solar potential on small buildings.
LEARN MORE
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Contact: Rob Sargent
Environment America Energy Program Director
(617) 747-4317
Contact: Bret Fanshaw
Environment America Solar Energy Coordinator
(602) 252-9225
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