A new report shows North Carolina becoming a bigger player in the solar energy market. The firm NPD Solarbuzz says North Carolina created 400MW (megawatts) of new solar capacity. That’s enough to account for 10 percent of all new solar in the U.S. and Canada. Analyst Michael Barker says it’s a ramp up from previous years.
"One of the big findings was just how quickly the North Carolina market has grown in 2013," Barker says. "Climbing from the 5th largest U.S. market to the 2nd largest U.S. market."
California once again ranked first, installing about four times the capacity North Carolina did, according to the report. In total, the U.S. and Canada added 4.2 gigawatts of solar power.
According the report, Strata Solar in Chapel Hill was the leading producer in the state. The company says it built more than 50MW of solar installations in North Carolina this year.
