Top Solar States In America
Do you know which states in America are rated the highest for solar power? A website called SolarPowerRocks has published its list for 2015.
The top ten are:
- New York
- Massachusetts
- Connecticut
- Oregon
- New Jersey
- Colorado
- Maryland
- Minnesota
- Vermont
10.New Mexico
California might come to mind as the top solar state, but its not number one. Another very sunny state like Arizona or Florida might seem like a probable candidate, but they are even’t close.
The top solar state, according to the list, is a somewhat northern state: New York. The number two state, Massachusetts, is even further north. What sets these two apart from the pack is simply public policy. They both have state government leadership that has made solar power a priority. So, if you live in Massachusetts or New York you have an advantage over people living in states such as Georgia or Florida, even though the southern states obviously have warmer climates.
Connecticut is in the number three position, followed by Oregon in number four and New Jersey in number five. All these states are relatively northern. They are also all mostly Democratic states. There is a stark line of division between most Democratics and Republicans when it comes to energy. Democrats generally support renewable energy and Republicans typically don’t.
You might not think of Minnesota as a top solar power state, but it is ranked number eight – again, because of its solar policies. Vermont is also a northernmost state and is ranked right behind Minnesota in the ninth position. You have to get to the tenth position before you find a more southern state: New Mexico.
Before you read the results of the SPR report, a quickie top ten might have looked like, if you were thinking of where the warmest states with abundant sunshine are:
- California
- Florida
- Arizona
- New Mexico
- Texas
- Utah
- Georgia
- South Carolina
- Alabama
- Louisiana
However, we see that some of these state that are blessed with sunshine are lacking public policies that support solar power. Of course, the lack of solar power in these states means a great deal of a free, natural resource is being wasted. This wasting of free energy in the form of sunshine is the reason organizations like VoteSolar exist.
It seems nearly a crime that the top solar states are not where the most sunshine is.
Image: William Warby, Wiki Commons
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About the Author
Jake Richardson has been writing about solar energy for years on sites like CleanTechnica, Care2, and Planetsave. He enjoys the outdoors and is passionate about protecting life on this planet. You can connect with Jake on Google Plus.
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