A new animated map, published on the Energy Self-Reliant States website, predicts which U.S. cities can achieve solar grid parity first. Grid parity describes the moment when electricity from solar power is less costly than electricity from the existing grid.
Energy policy analyst John Farrell predicts San Diego will be the first city to achieve grid parity in 2013, followed by New York City in 2015. By 2027, Farrell surmises that more than 40 metropolitan areas nationwide will reach grid parity.
Farrell based his projections on current decreases in the cost of solar electricity and increases in grid electricity rates.