Region Still Number One in Residential Solar Power
New policies and innovations are driving a shift from the use of carbon-based energy sources to alternative sources, clean technology, and increased energy efficiency. This indicator uses the Green Innovation Index to measure San Bernardino County’s progress in achieving sustainable economic growth. The Green Innovation Index provides statewide rankings of 26 metro areas on several measures of green innovation: installed solar capacity, clean vehicle rebates, and electricity consumption per capita.1
TREND
In 2018, Riverside-San Bernardino ranked first out of 26 California metro areas for the most kilowatts of installed residential solar power. Riverside-San Bernardino was also a statewide leader in commercial and industrial solar power installations, ranking 2nd on both categories. Riverside-San Bernardino continues to hold its position as 5th out of 26 in the number of clean vehicle rebates issued in 2018. In terms of the lowest residential electricity consumption per capita, Riverside-San Bernardino ranked 18 out of 26 metros in 2017, which is an improvement over the prior year (20th), but a drop since 2015 when the region ranked 14th. The region is 7th in the state for the lowest non-residential electricity consumption in 2017 – a slight improvement from 8th the previous year.
Selected Green Innovation Metrics Ranking Among 26 California Metro Areas
Selected Metro Areas, 2017 or 2018
Riverside-San Bernardino Los Angeles-Orange County San Diego Most Solar Installations: Residential 1 3 1 Most Solar Installations: Commercial 2 4 1 Most Solar Installations: Industrial 2 11 13 Most Clean Vehicle Rebates 5 1 4 Lowest Electricity Consumption per Capita: Residential 7 14 5 Lowest Electricity Consumption per Capita: Non-Residential 18 3 5