Issue link: https://nebusinessmedia.uberflip.com/i/1132141
W W W. M A I N E B I Z . B I Z 11 J U N E 2 4 , 2 0 1 9 F O C U S E N E R GY / E N V I R O N M E N T I n the recent Legislative session, a comprehensive solar bill, LD 1711, was signed into law by Gov. Janet Mills. It could create 553 full-time jobs during construction and generate an estimated hundreds of millions in local economic benefits, according to the trade group Coalition for Community Solar Access. It has already attracted the attention of the one of the country's largest solar installation companies, San Diego-Borrego Solar Systems Inc., which has its largest office and Northeast headquarters in Lowell, Mass. But ranked No. 43 in the nation by the Solar Energy Industries Association, Maine has a long way to go to catch up to its New England peers — Massachusetts, which ranks No. 7 (see chart), Connecticut (No. 20), Vermont (No. 25), Rhode Island (No. 34) or New Hampshire (No. 38). F O C U S S TA R T S O N F O L L OW I N G PA G E » I S O U R C E : SEIA/Wood Mackenzie Power & Renewables Solar Market Insights NEW ENGLAND RANKINGS HOW MAINE STACKS UP TOP 10 SOLAR STATES Based on the cumulative amount of solar electric capacity installed through 2018, and the equivalent of how many homes it could power. California | 24,464 MW (6.37 million homes) North Carolina | 5,261 MW (635,000 homes) Arizona | 3,739 MW (552,000 homes) Nevada | 3,145 MW (555,373 homes) Texas | 2,925 MW (349,000 homes) New Jersey | 2,733 MW (450,500 homes) Massachusetts | 2,465 MW (416,700 homes) Florida | 2,290 MW (276,000 homes) Utah | 1,651 MW (320,000 homes) New York | 1,628 MW (281,000 homes) Massachusetts | 2,465 MW (416,700 homes) Connecticut | 554 MW (80,100 homes) Vermont | 288 MW (54,231 homes) Rhode Island | 118 MW (21,439 homes) New Hampshire | 85 MW (13,480 homes) Maine | 55 MW (9,796 homes) 7. 20. 25. 34. 38. 43. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. Total solar investment: $158,000,000 Solar companies: 36 installers/developers 6 manufacturers; 28 others 70 Solar electricity share in Maine: 0.56% Solar jobs: 635 National rank: 43 Megawatts produced: 55.3 homes Enough solar power for: 9,796 The takeaway: Much of the solar development has been in the past two years; prices have fallen 47% over the past five years.