Rooftop Solar Power on the Rise

By Goddard Political Wire

Posted August 12, 2014 at 5:10am

The Union of Concerned Scientists has a new report out,
Solar Power on the Rise
. Key details:

The amount of solar power installed in the U.S. by 2013 was more than five times 2010’s level.
Our country has enough solar to power some 2.4 million typical U.S. households.
In June California set a one-day solar record, with solar meeting 8 percent of its overall electricity needs.

According to EcoWatch , a key driver behind the surge in rooftop systems “has been the plummeting costs of solar, along with the innovative ways people are getting solarized .”

Sunlight for PV generation is a powerful resource across the country. A system in Portland, Maine, for example, on average generates 85 percent of what it would in Los Angeles, and 95 percent of what it would in Miami. The system in Maine would generate 6 percent more electricity than in Houston. (Source: www.ucsusa.org/solarpowerontherise)