Nevada tops national list for solar economies
CARSON CITY–The governor’s office is crediting the state’s nearly 300 days of sunshine each year and its Renewable Energy Tax Abatement program for earning Nevada the top spot on a list of states with the biggest solar economies.
Stacker compiled data from the Solar Energy Industries Association and analyzed the economic impact of solar projects in each state based on the number of industry jobs per 1,000 non-farm employees.
Nevada ranked first with 4.5 jobs per 1,000, a total of nearly 6,200 solar industry jobs at more than 75,000 installations statewide. The state ranks sixth nationwide in total megawatts installed with 4,244.9. California is first with 33,208.6 megawatts.
Gov. Steve Sisolak is a supporter of clean energy, rolling out a clean energy spending plan after the Nevada Legislature passed a bill to fund the state’s Infrastructure Bank.
“Nevada leads the nation in terms of solar production and we’re going to continue to bring all the stakeholders to the table to ensure we are protecting our environment, combatting climate change and creating good-paying union jobs for our clean energy economy,” said Gov. Sisolak.
The Governor’s Office of Energy manages the state’s Renewable Energy Tax Abatements program. Under the program, renewable energy facilities can earn partial sales and use tax and partial property tax abatements.
The top 10 list is largely high-sunshine western states and includes:
- Nevada
- Utah
- California
- Hawaii
- Vermont
- Massachusetts
- Arizona
- Colorado
- New Mexico
- Rhode Island
