Solar Power Rocks have released a new list ranking all 50 states on how easy it is to go solar – and Massachusetts has come out on top!
The ranking looks at legislation and policies in each state, with the weighting as follows:
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Solar Incentives (60% of total grade) – Available utility, state, and municipal incentives to encourage people to go solar. This part includes how long it takes for a system to pay itself back accounting for all available incentives, any feed-in tariffs, other rebates and tax credits.
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Utility Policies (20%) – Whether utilities must, by law, draw some of their energy from renewables (called a renewable portfolio standard), or whether non-renewables are subsidized.
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Interconnection (10%) – How difficult it is for solar homeowners to connect to the electricity grid. The more complex, out of date, or nonsensical the state rules are for plugging into the grid, the lower the grade.
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Net Metering (10%) – Whether solar homeowners can sell excess electricity back to their utility for equal the amount they are charged to consume it.
Based on these factors, the top five states were: Massachusetts, Maryland, New York, Delaware and Colorado. The bottom five were: Idaho, North Dakota, Mississippi, Arkansas and Oklahoma.
For the full list and details on each state, go to Solar Power Rocks.
Credit: Solar Power Rocks
