Solar Power Rocks just released its residential solar power ratings by state (including the District of Columbia), based on criteria that lead to strong financial incentives to install solar panels. Find out your state’s solar power facts.

The report includes detailed discussions of each state broken down by criteria, including areas where each state excels and those where it falls short. It also shows how state legislatures can impact change on the solar market in each state. What are the prospects for your state? Read on to find out your solar power facts by state.

Top Ten States for Residential Solar Power

The top ten states include a slew of rebates and tax incentives for those that install solar panels on their homes which motivates residents to participate. Gov. Andrew Cuomo has made a commitment to solar energy, allowing his state to perform the best. It’s strange that some of the states with the least usable power have the best incentives.

1. New York

2. Massachusetts

3. Connecticut

4. Oregon

5. New Jersey

6. Colorado

7. Maryland

8. Minnesota

9. Vermont

10. New Mexico

My home state of South Carolina came in 37 on the list because despite having one of the best solar tax credits in the country, its “RPS standards are laughable”. (RPS stands for renewable portfolio standards.) It’s a regulation that requires increased production of energy from renewable sources such as wind, solar, biomass, and geothermal. It obligates electricity companies to produce a certain amount of electricity from renewable sources.

Bottom Ten States for Residential Solar Power

These states all scored an F in terms of tax incentives, credits, RPS standards, and accessibility. Unfortunately, many of these states would have loads of solar power to use.

40. Georgia

41. Virginia

42. North Dakota

43. Mississippi

44. Nebraska

45. Wyoming

46. Kentucky

47. West Virginia

48. Alabama

49. Oklahoma

50. Arkansas

If you want to see where your state falls on the list, checkout the entire report.

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Image: Intel Press Press

The post Solar Power Facts: 2015 Report Shows Residential Use By State appeared first on EcoSalon.

Students are once again vying to design and build the most cost-effective, energy-efficient and prettiest solar-powered home.

Two must-sees in Washington, DC this fall: one, the newly unveiled (though not officially dedicated due to hurricane upset) monument to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., designed by Chinese sculptor Master Lei Yixin. The other, the U.S. Department of Energy’s Solar Decathlon installation on the National Mall, from September 23-October 2, 2011.

The Decathlon is an award-winning collaborative program that engages teams from colleges across the world to design, build, and operate solar-powered houses that are cost-effective, energy-efficient, and pretty. The winner is the team that does it best, mindfully creating according to affordability, consumer appeal, and design excellence. It’s a free biennial event totally open to the public, who get to tour homes fathomed in nearby Maryland and as far imagined as New Zealand.

The purpose of the event is to educate student participants and the public at large about using clean-energy, the cost-effectiveness of energy-efficient construction and appliances, and providing students with training for the clean-energy workforce. Since 2002, the first year of the event, 72 houses have competed. Those houses are now dotted throughout the United States and the world serving educational, conservation, and community-oriented functions.

This year, nineteen teams are competing from the United States, Belgium, Canada, China and New Zealand. Here are a few we’re keeping our eye on.

From Middlebury College, “Self-Reliance.” A two-bedroom, 990-ft2 house designed for a family of four.

“First Light,” from Victoria University of Wellington, inspired by the traditional New Zealand holiday home—the “Kiwi bach.”

From the University of Maryland “WaterShed” proposes solutions to water and energy shortages.

CHIP from SCI-Arc is a design motivated by California’s “soaring land costs and urban sprawl.” It’s meant to be a minimal-footprint, affordable dwelling that offers a solution to the challenges of home ownership.

Out of Belgium, Ghent University’s E-Cube aims for simplicity stripped of nonessential components and finishes.

Visit Solar Decathlon for a full list of the participating teams, and tell us…what’s your favorite?

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