The Best And Worst States For Solar Energy 2024 (2024)

To assess the best and worst states for solar energy as well as what solar incentives are available nationwide, we analyzed six factors:

• Megawatts of solar installed per state
• How many solar jobs are available
• Number of homes powered by solar
• Percentage of energy run by solar
• How many clear days each state averages per year
• The average cost of installation after the federal solar tax incentive

These metrics allowed us to evaluate states’ solar sophistication, states with solid solar job markets and more. Based on this analysis, it’s clear which states are the best and worst for solar energy. It’s worth noting, however, that the majority of states are somewhere in the middle—which suggests there is a strong possibility for more solar energy development throughout the country.

The Best State for Solar Energy

California tops the list when it comes to solar energy friendliness. With nearly 150 sunny days per year along with an already robust solar system, job market and investments into the solar space, California is an ideal state for installing solar panels.

Many other states are trending in positive directions when it comes to utilizing and supporting more solar energy. For instance, Arizona is the sunniest state in the country and is closing in on one million homes powered by solar.

The Worst State for Solar Energy

North Dakota ranks worst for solar energy. Although North Dakota’s climate is relatively conducive to solar energy, there are only two megawatts of total solar installation in the state. That impacts the overall solar job market and doesn’t contribute any clean, solar electricity to the grid.

Solar energy is underutilized in many other states that are actually solid contenders for solar panels. For example, Kansas ranks 44th on the list of best states for solar. However, the Sunflower State has an impressive 128 sunny days per year and solar panels cost an average of $9,881 to install there, which is well below the national average. Yet only 0.02% of the state’s energy is powered by solar with just 110 MW of solar installed.

The States With the Most and Least Solar Sophistication

California has the most megawatts of solar currently installed, coming in at 38,145 MW. This powers 27.3% of all energy in the state. Nevada and Hawaii both have large percentages of solar power utilization.

North Dakota falls last on the solar sophistication scale with only two megawatts of solar installation powering 145 homes and an average of 0% of the state’s energy. South Dakota and West Virginia are not far behind, with both of those states failing to contribute any measurable solar energy to the state’s energy supply.

States With Thriving Solar Job Markets

Although California is by far the best solar job market with a total of 75,712 solar jobs, Florida, Massachusetts, New York and Texas have also created thousands of jobs due to their solar implementation, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Such jobs range from chemists and engineers to conductors and power plant operators and everything in between.

This data came from the SEIA and the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

States With the Most and Least Number of Homes Powered by Solar

Once again, California tops the list with 10,510,648 homes currently powered primarily by solar, which is not surprising when you take into account that California is also the most populous state. In terms of homes powered by solar energy, California is followed by Texas, Florida, North Carolina and Arizona.

North Dakota rounds out the bottom of the list with 149 solar-powered homes. Although that can be attributed partially to the state’s relatively low overall population, similarly low-populated states like Wyoming and Vermont both have significantly more homes powered by solar energy. North Dakota is accompanied at the bottom by South Dakota, Alaska, West Virginia and Kentucky.

When assessing the best state for solar in 2023, California was the clear winner across multiple metrics. For example, when it comes to megawatts of solar installed, California leads with 38,145 MW—which is more than double the second-place state, Texas, which has 16,173 MW installed. Similarly, California dominates the categories for solar jobs, number of homes powered by solar and the percentage of energy statewide run by solar.

On the other end of the spectrum, North Dakota barely makes an impression in the solar category with only 2 MW of solar installed across 149 homes.

One factor that can contribute to the popularity of solar in certain states is the extent to which installing solar panels is incentivized. Although homeowners in all 50 states qualify for the federal solar tax credit, additional incentives vary by state. Understanding the legislation in your state can help you get a clearer picture of how much panels cost upfront and how quickly solar can help you save.

The federal solar tax credit, officially called the Investment Tax Credit or ITC, allows homeowners to claim 30% of the cost of a solar energy system installed with no maximum. During 2022, this was raised from a 26% credit to 30% credit. The tax credit is due to expire in 2035 unless renewed by Congress.

Some states have additional solar incentives, including state-based tax credits, rebates or Solar Renewable Energy Certificates (SREC). In 2023, Arizona has the best incentives. Although solar rebates in Arizona vary by utility company, most are around $100 per kW. The state also provides 25% of the cost of the system in tax credits, with a maximum $1,000 credit. Solar energy systems installed in Arizona are 100% exempt from property and sales taxes.

A recent survey by Forbes Homefound that the majority of Americans are concerned about their home’s impact on the environment and nearly 50% plan to install solar panels in the future. While this can be a good monetary and environmental investment in every state, some offer better infrastructure and support than others. This makes installing solar panels in certain geographic areas more efficient and cost-effective.

If you’re interested in learning more about installing solar panels, Forbes Advisor has several helpful guides to get you on your way, including a guide to how to install solar panels and a guide to how much solar panels cost.

To determine the best and worst states for solar, the Forbes Advisor team analyzed six metrics across four categories including current solar infrastructure, jobs created by solar, sunlight impact and trends, as well as initial installation costs in each state. Each metric was given an individual weighting to provide every state a score scaled out of 100.

Current solar infrastructure (70%): This metric includes megawatts of solar installed in each state, number of homes powered by solar and the percentage of state energy run by solar. These metrics were analyzed and collected from state-level data presented by the Solar Energy Industries Association.

Solar jobs (15%): This metric is made up of the calculation of jobs that are currently available and in practice in each state in regards to solar energy. Some of these jobs include physicists, chemists, engineers, conductors, construction managers, real estate brokers, sales representatives and more. This data came from the SEIA and the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Weather implications (10%): This metric includes the average number of days per year that are considered “clear.” Meaning, days with less than 30% cloud coverage. This climatic data was sourced and analyzed from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the CDC.

Installation costs (5%): This metric used data from another Forbes Home article explaining solar incentives and costs as well as the Office of Energy Efficiency and Energy Renewable to calculate average installation costs by state. We then deducted the Federal Tax Incentive of 30% in each state to calculate the average costs.

Sources

• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

• National Solar Jobs Census Report

• Energy.gov

• National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

• CDC

• Office of Energy Efficiency and Energy Renewable

Seeherefor more statistics.