About Ben Zientara
Ben Zientara is a writer, researcher, and solar policy analyst who has written about the residential solar industry, the electric grid, and state utility policy since 2013.
His early work included leading the team that produced the annual State Solar Power Rankings Report for the Solar Power Rocks website from 2015 to 2020. The rankings were utilized and referenced by a diverse mix of policymakers, advocacy groups, and media including The Center for American Progress, The Institute for Local Self-Reliance, the Solar Institute at George Washington University, PolitiFact, and The Guardian.
In 2020, Ben joined SolarReviews and now lends his expertise to the annual Solar Industry Survey, Top Solar Manufacturers list, Top 10 Solar States list, and throughout articles and pages across the site.
Ben holds a B.S. in Scientific & Technical Communication from the University of Minnesota, with special coursework in Environmental Science and a minor in Sustainability Studies. He spends his time away from the solar power world cooking and eating delicious food or spending quality time with his wife, kids, and big brown dog in the mountains, woods, parks, and playgrounds of the Portland, Oregon area.
Articles by Ben Zientara
LADWP offers several solar programs for its customers, including net metering, Solar Rooftops, and Shared Solar. Save money with solar in Los Angeles!
Written by Ben Zientara
HECO is offering to pay solar homeowners in Hawaii thousands of dollars to install battery storage. We cover everything you need to know about the incentive in our latest blog.
Written by Ben Zientara
The average electricity cost increase per year in the U.S. is about 2-3%, but several factors can affect that rate for individual states and utility companies.
Written by Ben Zientara
Going solar can be a great way to save money and improve your home, but choosing the wrong company can lead to disaster. Here's how to avoid solar panel scams
Written by Ben Zientara
A comprehensive guide to various tax credits, rebates, and incentives for solar batteries on the federal, state, and utility level.
Written by Ben Zientara
We produced a full report of the results of the Solar Industry Survey, which provides a complete picture of the data we collected. We also pulled out some of the most interesting statistics our experts uncovered.
Written by Ben Zientara