OCTOBER 2015

THE COUNCIL OF STATE GOVERNMENTS

CAPITOL RESEARCH
ENERGY & ENVIRONMENT

Solar in the States

The solar industry is growing rapidly in
the United States. With more than 7,000
megawatts of capacity installed in 2014,
the total installed capacity in the country
climbed to over 20,000 MW, enough to
power more than 4 million American
households.1
Types of Solar Installation
Solar power in the United States includes both
centrally located utility-scale solar power plants
and local distributed generation, which predominantly comes from rooftop photovoltaics.
There are three main types of solar technology:
photovoltaics, which convert sunlight directly
into energy; concentrating solar power, or CSP, a
utility-scale technology that uses mirrors or lenses
to focus a large amount of heat into one area; and
heating and cooling systems, which use the suns
thermal energy to provide hot water, pool heating,
space heating and cooling for residences, businesses and industrial facilities.2

State Leaders in Solar Installation3

In 2014, California installed 4,316 MW of solar
energy capacity, more than any other state and
more than the solar energy capacity installed in
the entire country from 1970-2011. California also
leads the way in cumulative installed solar capacity
with 9,977 MW as of 2014.
In watts per person, Hawaii has more solar energy
capacity per capita than any other state with 321.
Arizona is close behind with 316 watts per person.
Four states obtained 100 percent of new electricity capacity from solar in 2014: Arizona, Vermont,
Tennessee and Nevada.

The Council of State Governments

Jobs in the Solar Industry are

Growing Rapidly4
Approximately 174,000 people work in the U.S.
solar industry, with solar jobs existing in all 50
states.
Over the past five years, the solar industry has seen
an 86 percent increase in employment.
Demand side sectors, such as installation, sales,
distribution and project development, make up 76
percent of employment in the solar industry. Thus,
job growth in the solar industry is strongly tied to
continued increases in capacity.
The solar industry is expected to add 36,000 additional employees in 2015.
The top 10 states for solar jobs are California
(54,700); Massachusetts (9,400); Arizona (9,200);

New York (7,280); New Jersey (7,200); Texas

(6,970); Nevada (5,900); North Carolina (5,600);
Florida (4,800) and Ohio (4,300).
Nevada ranks first in the nation in solar jobs per
capita.

Major Corporations are Going Solar at an

Increasing Rate
The 25 top solar producing companies installed
more than 489 MW in capacity in 2014.
Walmart leads the way in installed solar capacity, with 105.1 MW, more than twice the capacity
of runner-up Kohls, with 50.2 MW. Walmart has
installed more than 250 solar energy systems in the
U.S., with each providing 15 percent to 30 percent
of a stores electricity.5
Rounding out the top ten are Costco (48.1 MW);
Apple (40.7 MW); IKEA (39.1 MW); Macys (20.8
MW); Johnson & Johnson (17.8 MW); Target (14.9
MW); McGraw Hill (14.1 MW) and Staples (13.7
MW).6
Apple recently entered into the largest solar procurement contract for a non-utility, agreeing to an
$850 million investment that will provide 130 MW
of solar power to be completed before the end of
2016. The investment will provide enough electricity to supply all of Apples California stores, offices,
headquarters and a data center. Apple recently
completed two, 20 MW installations in North Carolina, with a third under construction. An additional
20 MW plant is being developed in Reno, Nev.7

The Cost of Solar is Expected to

Continue to Decline8
The installed cost of grid-connected solar photovoltaic systems in the U.S. continues to rapidly
decline. In 2014, U.S. median installed costs
declined by 9 percent for residential systems, 10

percent for non-residential systems of less than 500

kw, and by 21 percent for non-residential systems
greater than 500 kw.
These recent reductions in the installed price
of solar have been driven primarily by declines
in softs costs, such as marketing and customer
acquisition, labor, permitting and inspection costs,
and system design.
Installed prices for both residential and non-residential systems are based on economies of scale,
with larger systems costing between 15 percent and
36 percent less than smaller systems.
Installed prices vary widely among states. Delaware and Texas had the lowest median installed
prices, while New York had the highest. Some of
the largest market states such as Massachusetts,
New York and California, are relatively highpriced, but prices in most states are below the
aggregate national median cost.

Policy Uncertainties Might Pose a

Challenge for the Industry9
On Dec. 31, 2016, the federal 30 percent investment tax credit supporting residential solar is
set to expire. Installed solar capacity is expected
to decline by 57 percent if the tax credit is not
extended.
Solar rebate and tax incentives are generally
decreasing or expiring at the state level. In addition, net metering caps and renewable energy
portfolio standard targets are being reached. Regulators and legislators are reviewing and considering
changes to net metering and rate design in many
states, as well.
Liz Edmondson, Director of Energy & Environment Policy,
ledmondson@csg.org

Solar Energy Industries Association, Solar Industry Data, available at: http://www.seia.org/research-resources/solar-industry-data
Solar Energy Industries Association, Solar Technology, available at http://www.seia.org/policy/solar-technology
3
Solar Energy Industries Association, 2014 Top 10 Solar States, available at: http://www.seia.org/research-resources/2014-top-10-solar-states
4
The Solar Foundation, National Solar Jobs Census 2014, available at: http://www.thesolarfoundation.org/national-solar-jobs-census-2014/
5
Solar Energy Industries Association, Solar Means Business 2014: Top U.S. Commercial Solar Users, available at: http://www.seia.org/research-resources/solar-means-business-2014-top-us-commercial-solar-users
6
Id.
7
Tom Randall, What Apple Just Did in Solar is a Really Big Deal, Bloomberg Business, Feb. 11, 2015.
8
Galen Barbose and Naim Darghouth, Tracking the Sun VIII: The Installed Price of Residential and Non-Residential Photovoltaic Systems in the United States, Lawrence Berkley National Laboratory (August 2015).
https://emp.lbl.gov/sites/all/files/lbnl-188238_1.pdf
9
North Carolina Clean Energy Technology Center and Mesiter Consultants Group, 50 States of Solar, (Second Quarter 2015), available at:
http://nccleantech.ncsu.edu/wp-content/uploads/50-States-of-Solar-Q2-2015-final.pdf.
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THE COUNCIL OF STATE GOVERNMENTS