The US is throwing solar panels onto its roof faster than ever, a new industry report shows. Last year was "record-shattering," its press materials exclaim: "By the end of 2013 there were nearly 13 [Gigawatts] of solar installed in the US—enough to power nearly 2.2 million homes." That's a lot of solar power.
For some context, consider how many homes that actually is: According to US Census statistics, that's more than the total number of houses in Wyoming (265,162), Alaska (307,594), Washington DC (300,241), Vermont (324,084), South Dakota (368,175) and Delaware (410,321) combined. That's five states and the nation's capital that could run on solar. Theoretically, of course: home energy use and solar availability are major variables. But you get the picture—solar is ramping up fast.