The Alamo City — which was in eighth place last year — now has 161 megawatts of direct current solar power installed, according to the latest Shining Cities report from Environment America. The numbers are through the end of 2017.

Direct current is the power produced by solar panels before being converted to alternating current, which powers homes, and typically is measured at a higher level than AC power due to loss from conversion.

The growth is a 37.6 percent increase over the 117 megawatts of solar that San Antonio had installed by the end of 2016.

“That is the largest growth in the state of Texas in solar and it jumps San Antonio up two places in the rankings from eighth place last year to sixth place this year,” said Luke Metzger, director of the advocacy group Environment Texas, which is part of Environment America.

The latest numbers show San Antonio swapping places with Indianapolis, which had previously been sixth and is now eighth, and pushing past New York City, which San Antonio was ranked just behind last year.

City-owned CPS Energy’s Chief Operating Officer Cris Eugster attributed most of the growth to the utility’s rooftop solar rebate program.

Source: San Antonio ranks 6th in U.S. solar – San Antonio Express-News