| You don’t have to live in the
Mojave Desert of Arizona, to generate electricity
and hot water from the sun. |
| |
| Photovoltaic Solar
Radiation - United States |
 |
| Credit: National
Renewable Energy Laboratory. Link
to larger image |
| |
| Annual Average Daily
Peak Sun Hours - United States |
 |
| Credit: US Department
of Energy |
| As the maps illustrate, the Southeast
receives an average of 4.5 to 4.7 hours of peak sun
daily. In addition, the solar energy intensity received
in most of the Southeast U.S. is only about 15 percent
less than that received in the sunny Southwest. |
| |
Numerous solar
projects in the Southeast have been great successes.
|
Local incentives are often more
important than geographical climate in determining
the economic feasibility of a solar system. State
incentives and renewable energy policies can shorten
system payback times remarkably. In California,
for example, the cost of solar electric systems
is often cut in half through local incentives and
utilities that buy solar power at a premium.
While the state of Georgia has no tax-credit incentives for
solar thermal or photovoltaics, it does offer
net-metering, whereby someone with a solar array
can sell their power back into the electricity
grid. Other states in the Southeast do have sizable
incentives for installing solar.
|
These states include:
|
| • |
Virginia |
| • |
North Carolina |
| • |
Florida |
| Consult the residential and commercial
pages of this website to learn more about incentives. |
 |
Residential Solar |
|
Commercial Solar |
|
For a comprehensive incentives list go to the Database
of State Incentives for Renewable Energy’s
website, dsireusa.org |
|
The Southeast boasts some of the best solar resources
in the country including the Florida Solar Energy
Center, the North Carolina Solar Center, and Southface
in Atlanta. |
