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sun map of the US

This map shows the general trends in the amount of solar radiation received in the United States and its territories. It is a spatial interpolation of solar radiation values derived from the 1961-90 National Solar Radiation Data Base (NSRDB). The dots on the map represtent the 239 sites of the NSRDB.

Maps of the average values are porduced by averaging all 30 years of data for each site. Maps of maximum and minimum values are composites of specific months and years for which each site achieved its maximum or minimum amounts of solar radiation.

Though useful for identifying general trends, this map should be used with caution for site-specific resource evaluations because variations in solar radiation not reflected in the maps can exist, introducing uncertainty into resource estimates.

Average Daily Sunlight for Selected Cities

State City Average
Alabama Montgomery 4.23
Alaska Fairbanks 3.99
Arizona Phoenix 6.58
Arkansas Little Rock 4.69
California Los Angeles 5.62
Colorado Grand Junction 5.85
DC Washington 4.23
Florida Miami 5.62
Georgia Atlanta 4.74
Hawaii Honolulu 6.02
Idaho Boise 4.92
Illinois Chicago 3.14
Indiana Indianapolis 4.21
Iowa Ames 4.4
Kansas Manhattan 4.57
Kentucky Lexington 4.94
Louisiana New Orleans 4.92
Maine Portland 4.51
Maryland Silver Hill 4.47
Massachusetts Boston 3.84
Michigan E. Lansing 4
Minnesota St. Cloud 4.53
Mississippi Meridian 4.43
Missouri Columbia 4.73
Montana Great Falls 4.93
Nebraska Omaha 4.9
Nevada Las Vegas 6.41
New Jersey Sea Brook 4.21
New Mexico Albuquerque 6.77
New York New York City 4.08
North Carolina Greensboro 4.71
North Dakota Bismark 5.01
Ohio Columbus 4.15
Oklahoma Oklahoma City 5.59
Oregon Medford 4.51
Pennsylvania State College 3.91
Rhode Island Newport 4.23
South Carolina Charleston 5.06
South Dakota Rapid City 5.23
Tennessee Nashville 4.45
Texas El Paso 6.72
Utah Salt Lake City 5.26
Virginia Richmond 4.13
Washington Spokane 4.48
West Virginia Charleston 3.65
Wisconsin Madison 4.29
Wyoming Lander 6.06