California is the Real Sunshine State

Clean, reliable and affordable, Americans are adapting solar energy at a rapid pace. In fact, it is now the fastest growing form of energy generation in the United States. The market has continued to break records – 3,313 megawatts were added to the grid in 2012, a 34 percent increase on 2011.

Even though Florida is renowned as America’s ‘Sunshine State’, California is certainly reigning supreme when it comes to solar energy generation at state level. In 2012, California became the first state to install more than 1,000 MW of solar energy in one year.

With a total of 1,033 MW of new solar energy installed in 2012, California tops the American solar market by a considerable distance. Arizona comes second with 710 MW of solar brought online during 2012, while New Jersey comes in a distant third, having installed 415 MW.

Nevada and North Carolina come fourth and fifth, having installed 198MW and 132MW of solar energy respectively. The solar boom in the United States looks set to continue, and industry analysts are wildly optimistic about 2013.