According to a new study, if the top U.S. cities identified as having the most solar rooftop potential were utilized, the country could produce enough to power 8 million homes across the country.
This statistic was released by Project Sunroof, which uses data from Google Maps and Google Earth, as well as 3D modeling and machine learning, to determine the potential impact of consistent adoption of solar power.
For their study, around 60 million buildings were analyzed, which provided key insight into the potential of solar energy in the U.S. According to their findings:
- 79 percent of rooftops included in the study can be used for solar power.
- In states like Hawaii, Arizona, Nevada, and New Mexico, 90 percent of homes can be utilized for solar power.
- States like Pennsylvania, Maine, and Minnesota still reach 60 percent viability for solar power generation.
- Houston, Texas, has the highest solar potential among all U.S. cities studied. Around 18,940 gigawatt hours (GWh) could potentially be produced if homes were converted to support solar generation.
- Other cities that show high potential for solar rooftop generation include Los Angeles, Phoenix, San Antonio, and New York.
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