Northeast States Fare Well In New Solar Rankings

A new set of solar rankings indicates that many Northeastern states have fared well in being able to promote the growth of solar energy throughout the United States. Ambitious countrywide goals from the Obama administration and equally strong plans from state governments have been helping promote the use of solar energy throughout the country. The power source offers numerous benefits to its users, as it can make dramatic reductions in utility bills while at the same time contributing to fight against global climate change. However, not every state is equal. While some have more days of direct sunlight than others, these are not the only factors that go into making strong solar states. Some governments provide more lucrative incentives than others making the widespread uptake of solar panels more prominent in these locations. Lancaster, MA 1 Community Solar 1 MW Project New report indicates strong NortheastFinancial advice website Nerd Wallet has released its rankings for the best residential solar energy states, with the northeastern region showing strong representation in the top ten. The website formulated its rankings based on a number of factors including logistical considerations like the amount of sunlight present in each state, but also financial factors such as the electricity rates in the states, as well as the incentives offered in these regions. Major green energy states like California and Hawaii topped the list, as their efforts to promote solar have been well established for quite some time, however, states such as Delaware, New Jersey, New York and Massachusetts also rounded out the top ten as they continue to burst onto the solar energy scene. Delaware ranked the highest of these states, a ranking that may surprise some people, given its size. However, as a result of some lofty goals by the state legislature, which is striving to have a quarter of the state's energy generated by renewable sources come 2025, the state is becoming a hotbed for residential solar installations. The news source explains that a number of incentives, such as solar renewable energy credits, make it so that utilities can actually pay residents for the power that is generated by their system. The state government also provides rebates based on the size of the installation, helping reduce the initial cost of installation. In all, these kinds of incentives allow for about a five-year payback on a solar investment for most home or business owners. Of course, a home or business can go solar for no upfront investment at all in many areas as third parties are able to monetize the incentives to provide such attractive solar financing options. California received the highest score in the rankings with a total score of 56 out of 100. Delaware, which ranked 5 had a total score of 41.2. New Jersey and New York followed close behind with rankings of 40.7 and 39.4 respectively, as Massachusetts rounded out the top ten with a score of 37.2, though it had the highest rating for state incentives. Strong solar marketsThese results reflect strong markets in much of the Northeast region, as strong investment and incentives result in expansive markets. For example, Delaware saw 13 million of investment in the industry during 2012, which helped contribute to its 18 megawatts of total capacity, which is enough power to support nearly 5,000 homes, according to Solar Energy Industry Associates. Neighboring state, New Jersey has been a pioneer in the region with efforts to expand solar, and as a result, had 419 MW of solar capacity installed in 2012, helping make it the third largest state for solar capacity 1,051 megawatts total. As a result, solar PV prices fell by 20 percent last year, outpacing the national average, as indicated by SEIA figures. Massachusetts and New York have also been instrumental in promoting the energy source throughout the region, despite setbacks like limited sunlight when compared to states like California and Hawaii. You may also like - DOE's 4 billion loan supports more renewable energy projects New Bedford follows Massachusetts' lead in pushing solar Cape Wind project may receive push it needsCommentsPowered by Facebook Comments This entry was posted in Delaware, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Solar Energy News, Solar Incentives and Financing on September 10, 2013.

The Top Energy News Stories Of 2014

"These stories, for which links can be found on the internet at www.greenenergytimes.net/top-20-of-2014, were chosen by the editors of "Green Energy Times" as the top twenty of 2014:"

JANUARY 11 - A look at peer-reviewed articles on climate change in scientific journals, from Nov. 12, 2012 through December 31, 2013, found 2,258 articles written by a total of 9,136 authors. Only one article, by a single author, rejected man-made global warming.

JANUARY 16 - Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and University of Connecticut analyzed more than 122,000 home sales near 26 wind facilities in densely populated Massachusetts, yet was unable to find any impacts to nearby home property values.

FEBRUARY 11 - Decommissioning Sellafield nuclear power station in the UK will cost taxpayers at least lb70 billion (106 billion) as costs hit "astonishing levels," senior MPs said yesterday. "What's worse is that the cost is likely to continue to rise."

MARCH 7 - China's Premier Li Keqiang has declared war on pollution, outlining significant steps the Chinese government will take to improve air quality. China has suffered from truly epic smog over the last two winters.

MARCH 19 - Available evidence does not support the notion that wind farms cause adverse health effects, according the Australian Medical Association. They say health effects blamed on wind turbines are instead a placebo effect caused by anti-wind activists.

MARCH 25 - In new estimates released today, WHO reports that in 2012 around 7 million people died - one in eight of total global deaths - as a result of air pollution exposure. This confirms that air pollution is now the world's largest environmental health risk.

MAY 3 - According to the International Monetary Fund, when you factor in implicit subsidies from the failure to charge for pollution, climate change and other externalities, the post-tax cost of support for fossil fuels comes in at close to 2 trillion each year.

JUNE 10 - A decision by parties to an obscure convention has huge implications for Europe's aging nuclear reactors. License extensions for nuclear reactors have environmental impact assessments comparing impacts to those of renewable alternatives.

JUNE 26 - The use of executive powers to regulate greenhouse gas emissions has been reaffirmed by the US Supreme Court in a ruling issued on Monday. This suggests President Obama's climate policy has solid legal foundations.

JULY 7 - On July 5 and July 6 in Oklahoma, there were seven earthquakes. As of last month, Oklahoma had surpassed California in the number of earthquakes. It's possible that hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, could have played a role in causing them.

JULY 29 - The American Wind Energy Association has just come out with some facts and figures about the so-called hidden cost of wind power. According the AWEA calculations the "hidden cost" for conventional power plants in Texas is 17 times more than wind.

AUGUST 19 - A Department of Energy and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory report pegs utility-scale wind power-purchase agreement pricing as averaging 25 per MWh for projects that negotiated contracts in 2013. That makes wind the lowest cost power source.

AUGUST 28 - Renewable energy sources accounted for 14.3% of net US electrical generation in the first half of the year, according to a new report by the EIA. Last year, the EIA forecast that the US would reach the 14% renewable mark in 2040.

AUGUST 31 - One of the most important pieces of news of the summer made virtually no headlines and seemed to only appear on the website of the US Energy Information Administration. 127 of the world's largest oil and gas companies are running out of cash.

SEPTEMBER 7 - The transition to a global renewable energy economy could save 71 trillion by the year 2050, according to an IEA report. Put another way, 44 trillion in investment by the year 2050 would translate to about 115 trillion in energy savings.

SEPTEMBER 14 - After a seven-year-long investigation, scientists at the National Audubon Society issued a grim report finding that more than half of the 650 or so bird species in North America may be threatened by global warming.

SEPTEMBER 19 - Ahead of a UN climate summit, institutional investors managing lb15 trillion of assets are calling on governments to phase out subsidies for fossil fuels, which are estimated at lb370 billion per year world wide, five times the subsidies for renewables.

NOVEMBER 12 - The presidents of the US and China agreed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in both countries. The US would cut its carbon emissions by 26-28% before 2025. China would start to cut carbon emissions and be 20% carbon free by 2030.

DECEMBER 1 - EON, the world's largest investor-owned utility, will break itself up, spinning off fossil fuel power plants into a separate company so it can focus on renewable energy. EON will write down the value of assets by EUR4.5 billion.

DECEMBER 30 - The Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant stopped sending electricity to the grid Monday after producing total of 171 billion kWh over its 42-year lifetime. The shutdown came just after noon as the plant completed its 30th operating cycle.