Link To Report: “Lighting the Way 4: The Top States that Helped Drive America’s Solar Energy Boom in 2015”
Press Release – Washington, D.C. – Utah has made big progress in developing solar energy, with at least one solar panel for every three people. In fact, Utah installed 78 percent more distributed solar generation in 2015 than in 2014 according to Environment America’s new report.
“Lighting the Way: The Top States that Helped Drive America’s Solar Energy Boom in 2015” shows that Utah now ranks number five in solar electricity per capita installed during 2015, making it a leading state in the nation for renewable energy.
This is the first time the Beehive State is in the top ten states for solar power. It has become a leader in utilizing solar energy, with clean power businesses like SolarCity replacing harmful pollution-causing energy sources with footprint-free energy from the sun.
“While Utah has made great progress in the last year, vaulting to number five in new solar capacity per capita, we have the potential to completely power the state with solar power,” said Reilly Park of Environment America. “Salt Lake City has already set an ambitious goal to get to 100 percent renewable energy, now the rest of the state should follow, “ she added.
In the U.S., Utah, as well as California, Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, and Texas, has the greatest potential for renewable solar energy.
Last Wednesday, Salt Lake City Mayor Jackie Biskupski and city council members announced the Climate Positive 2040 commitment. They pledge to transition to 100 percent renewable energy sources by 2032 and reduce carbon emissions by 80 percent by 2040.
Environment America’s report shows that more progress is possible statewide. At number five in the country of solar energy capacity per capita added in 2015, Utah was a new addition to the top 10 for solar capacity additions. From 2014 to 2015, Utah’s cumulative solar capacity grew fourteen -fold, most new solar capacity coming from 11 new utility-scale solar plants (compared to just one such facility in operation before 2015).
As the price of solar energy has come down, with help from the federal investment tax credit and state incentives, utility-scale solar in Utah has become financially viable. Low prices are driving both voluntary utility procurement of solar energy. “Utah’s leaders should take advantage of this momentum and strong public support for solar to go even further, “ said Park. “Recent polls show that 75 percent of Utahns support incentives for solar power,” she added.
