If you have ever wondered how much of the electricity demand in the U.S. could be supplied by rooftop solar , a new study has the answer. Last month the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) released the report Rooftop Solar Technical Potential for Low-to-Moderate Income Households in the United States. As the name indicates, the study was primarily aimed at the solar photovoltaic (PV) potential on households with low-to-moderate income (LMI) levels (defined as those earning 80 percent or less of the area median income). Rooftop solar PV to date has been adopted primarily among higher-income households, but declining costs of solar PV are expanding the potential for solar outside of this demographic. The study utilized light detection and ranging (LiDAR)–based scans of buildings as well as statistical techniques to estimate rooftop solar PV potential. The study found that of the 116.9 million residential buildings in the U.S., there […]