According to the San Francisco Business Times, numerous cities in California ranked in the top seven of solar power system installations per 1,000 people in major U.S. metropolitan areas. These cities include San Diego, San Jose, Riverside, San Francisco and Los Angeles.

In 2014, more than 230,000 new solar systems were added across the U.S., compared to only around 10,000 in 2005, said research from Buildzoom. Buildzoom used solar power building permits for residential, commercial and utility scale projects to determine these numbers. Their research indicates that commercial and residential permits comprise most of this volume, but utility projects did produce a large amount of electric production as well.

San Diego currently has almost 6.5 times more solar systems per capita than the nation as a whole. California accounts for about half of new solar power systems installed in the country each year. The number of solar systems currently installed and in use per 1,000 residents is 8.89. This is almost four times the national figure, which sits at 2.26.

Western California currently accounts for the largest amount of solar systems per capita, but the Northeast is beginning to catch up. Between 2013 and 2014, the amount of solar systems installed in the Northeast increased by 227 percent.

California's solar capacity continues to grow, accounting for over 52 percent of all new solar permits in 2014 alone. It's growth can be attributed to a number of factors including different tax rebates, pricing and climate.

If you're considering installing solar panels in your home, SolarMax Technology can help.

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