The Northeast region of the United States may not seem like an ideal area for solar power, but there is actually a lot of untapped solar potential in that part of the country. Redfin (www.redfin.com), the next-generation real estate brokerage, teamed up with Sun Number, a U.S. Dept. of Energy SunShot-funded startup that has developed a patented, automated process for analyzing the solar potential of rooftops, to find out which U.S. cities have the most untapped solar potential. The company, which assigns cities a Sun Number based on a scale of 1 to 100, looked at cities with an average Sun Number above 70 in the Northeast. Redfin then looked at those areas with the lowest percentage of homes mentioning “solar panels” in their listing description to come up with the top 10 cities for untapped solar potential.“Buying a solar energy system will likely increase your home’s value,” says the Department of Energy. “A recent study found that solar panels are viewed as upgrades, just like a renovated kitchen or a finished basement, and home buyers across the country have been willing to pay a premium of about $15,000 for a home with an average-sized solar array. Additionally, there is evidence that homes with solar panels sell faster than those without.”
Here are the 10 cities in the Northeast U.S. with the most untapped solar potential:
1. Providence, Rhode Island
2. Rochester, New York
3. Syracuse, New York
4. Worcester, Massachusetts
5. Buffalo, New York
6. Boston, Massachusetts
7. Newark, New Jersey
8. August, Maine
9. Albany, New York
10. Concord, New Hampshire
Source:Businesswire
