“Over 300 Gigawatts of Power Waiting on Our Rooftops – And That’s Just the Top 10 States. Just looking at the United States, recent research from the Solar Energy Industries Association shows that there’s huge rooftop solar power potential waiting to be tapped. California leads the nation with 76 gigawatts, just on the roof of buildings. Texas trails a bit with 60 GW — especially remarkable considering how much of the state, particularly in the western half is barely developed at all, much wilderness or rangeland. Florida has 49 GW of potential rooftop solar power; Ohio has 27 GW; Illinois 26 GW; Georgia and New Jersey 25 GW each; North Carolina 23 GW; Michigan and Pennsylvania each have 22 GW.”

The two buildings (26 stories and 18 stories) will quite literally, be covered in green. 480 big and medium-size trees, 250 small trees, and roughly 11,000 groundcover plants, according to Boeri Studio, the architectural firm behind the design. It’s the equivalent of almost 2.5 acres of forest on the sides of the buildings, the firm says.

With more than 16 megawatts of installed capacity, Lancaster ranks third in the state for solar behind San Jose and San Diego. However, when it comes to per capita installation, the city has more than 130 kilowatts of solar for each of its 153,000 residents, which is more than double the per capita solar in San Jose and San Diego combined.

“Operating at 15% efficiency the U.S. road system would provide more than four times our current electricity needs, or about as much electricity as the whole world uses. … The primary complication is manufacturing glass that is strong enough for an 18-wheeler to drive on, that is clear enough to allow sunlight in but opaque enough not to emit too much glare, with sufficient traction and durable enough to last for years.”