Despite its Sunshine state moniker, Florida is barely harnessing its bountiful rays for energy. The Solar Energy Industries Association ranks the state third in the US for rooftop solar potential but just 12th in terms of installed capacity. Despite some growth in commercial solar, the number of Florida households getting solar panels is not projected to squeak past 100 a year until 2021, a paltry rate for a state with more than 20 million residents.
The gloom of renewable energy and climate advocates in Florida is exacerbated by envy at the solar boom occurring in the north-east states and out west in California. “You see states with snow and far more cloud than Florida and they have more solar than us,” said Alissa Schafer, communications and policy manager at the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy. “That can be a bit frustrating. These other states are kicking our butt, to put it bluntly.”
