2017 United States Solar Power Rankings

Hey folks! 2016 was a hell of a year, huh? Nowhere was that statement more true than in the solar industry. We’ve been through the ringer this year, with some big victories and big defeats.

We began the year with an extension to the all-important Federal Solar Investment Tax Credit, which served to put a lot of long-term fears to rest across the industry. That was good start, but it didn’t last long.

Almost at the same time, Nevada did away with its formerly-excellent net metering policies, setting the tone for a year full of contentious fights over how utility companies should pay homeowners for the solar energy they produce.

There’s a whole lot more to talk about, but for now, let’s jump right into the rankings.

This year, we analyzed 663 data points to judge the promise of solar in all of the 50 states and the District of Columbia.

As in past years, we graded each state based on 12 criteria, then weighted the criteria individually, and multiplied the values of the grades by the weights to determine rankings. Read more…