Gavop’s analysis of latest solar installation data from SEIA and census data shows that California leads the nation at 44.92% of all homes installed with solar home. California also leads the nation with total homes installed with solar power at 6.3M total homes which contributes to the 24,464 MW of Solar capacity. The below chart shows the data for all the top 10 states with the highest installed solar capacity.

Nevada comes a close second at 44.44% of all homes installed with solar power. However, because they are a smaller populated state, they are number four ranked in terms of total solar power installed at 3,145 MW.  The three next three states with the highest penetration of solar homes are Utah (29.47%), Arizona (18.42%) and Massachusetts (14.40%). The states with the lowest penetration of Solar homes, among the top 10 states with the highest solar capacity, are Florida (2.92%), Texas (3.19%) and New York (3.37%).

A lot of the adoption of solar systems is driven by government policies and incentives. For example, California’s recent rule for all new homes to have solar systems will further accelerate adoption. The excerpt from the government press release makes it clear;

Moving to cut energy use in new homes by more than 50 percent, the California Energy Commission today adopted building standards that require solar photovoltaic systems starting in 2020. The building energy efficiency standards, which are the first in the nation to require solar, will reduce greenhouse gas emissions by an amount equivalent to taking 115,000 fossil fuel cars off the road.

On the other hand, states like Texas do not offer any incentives for homeowners to invest in solar.  This commentary from the Houston Chronicle makes clear some of the dynamics in Texas:

Electricity prices in Texas are also cheaper, which provides less of an incentive to install the pricey  panels. The average price for electricity is 8.4 cents per kilowatt hour in Texas, about 20 percent less than the U.S. average. Homeowners in Texas also aren't eligible for renewable energy credits that are bought and sold in other states to meet renewable energy requirements. Nor are Texas homeowners who install solar panels eligible for other state government incentives such as subsidies and cash rebates.

The content & opinions in this article are the author’s and do not necessarily represent the views of AltEnergyMag

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