Average solar potential, by state

Hover over each state to see the photo-voltaic output (PVOUT) in KWh/year, a measure of the electrical energy generated, of a 1 MWp solar panel array installed in a school within that state. 

Dark-red colored states have higher PVOUT values and correlate to ideal regions for solar panels. These regions often have higher elevation, more exposure to sunlight, and latitude values closer to the equator. Solar arrays in these locations will outperform those placed in yellow or orange colored zip codes. 

Top 3 states by total solar potential are California, Texas and Florida

States are compared by the total solar output generated if every school in the state installed a 1 MWp solar panel array. As decisions to “go solar” can be influenced by state level policies, incentives in top-ranking states on this list can make an outsized impact. 

State and local policies are driving solar installations in schools

Generation180 is a non-profit that tracks solar schools across the US. According to their “Brighter Future” report, published in Sept 2020, we have the following data about the current state of solar in schools for the top 5 states. Hawaii is doing an amazing job with 29% of their schools “going solar”. Whereas New Mexico has a long way to go with only 5% of their schools being solar, despite high solar efficiency. Nationally, only 5.5% of schools have gone solar, so there is 94.5% of the way to go still!

What is fascinating is to look at the top 10 states, ranked by number of solar schools. While we see Arizona and California on the list, we also see states in the bottom half by solar efficiency featuring in the top 10. This disparity between “ideal” (how we might install solar panels, all things being equal) and “actual” (where solar is installed in schools) points to the huge effect that state-level policies and incentives have on adoption of this technology.