We hate to say it, but with all that sunshine in our great state of GA? We can do much better to grow our Georgia solar programs. Just take a look at this map of the top 10 Solar States of 2014 from Solar Energies Industry Association (SEIA)... Georgia isn't even on it! (We did rank on this list in 2013.) Our Southern friends in North Carolina made the top 10 list (they have more solar power than all of the Southeastern states combined!), though, along with reigning champ California and key states in the Southwest, West, Northeast and Hawaii.
- There are currently more than 170 solar companies at work throughout the value chain in Georgia, employing 2,900 people. These companies provide a wide variety of solar products and services ranging from solar system installations to the manufacturing of components used in photovoltaic panels. Cheers to that! Solar CrowdSource is happy to be part of the growing Georgia solar industry.
- In 2014, Georgia installed 45 MW of solar electric capacity, ranking it 16th nationally. Okay, not too shabby out of 50 states!
- The 161 MW of solar energy currently installed in Georgia ranks the state 15th in the country in installed solar capacity. There is enough solar energy installed in the state to power 17,000 homes. While this is great, of course, just think of how many more homes and businesses that could be powered with this renewable energy source... Georgia has a population of more than 10 million people and 2.1 million single-family homes.
- In 2014, $79 million was invested on solar installations in Georgia. Again, this is all good news, but we can still make bigger strides!
Unfortunately, while there are helpful federal tax credits, there aren't statewide incentives for installing solar panels anymore in our lovely state. This is one reason why it's important to be on the lookout for alternative Georgia solar development community programs that can make up for this and provide affordable ways to obtain solar for your residence, business or community.
Interested in an affordable Georgia solar program? Consider a Solarize Georgia or Community Solar program.
