People don’t typically think of the Garden State as a particularly green one, or even a very sunny one. Nonetheless, New Jersey has become a national leader in solar energy development.

A simple formula of credits and expenses is to be blamed for the recent spike in New Jersey’s solar power generation. It’s primarily local governments buying panels for public buildings and private homeowners with dreams of turning the power meter backward that have led the charge.

New Jersey has the highest energy cost in the county. Because of that, the average solar system will take only five years to pay for itself, according to a report on NJ.com. That’s a faster return on investment than someone in any other state in the country could hope for.

New Jersey also gives homeowners bigger credits than any other state. Owners who install solar panels get $655 for every Megawatt of power they generate using the sun’s rays.

The state’s unique atmosphere of high energy costs and big energy credits for regular Joes have attracted companies from all over to the state.

Several California-based solar companies have started complex financing programs in New Jersey that involve installing panels on buildings and selling the power back to the owners at a rate far lower than that paid to the regular utility company, according the article on NJ.com.

While the state is doing everything it can to promote public solar projects, growth in the private sector is far outpacing the government.

The state legislature is trying to catch up. New Jersey’s public solar projects generate less than a few megawatts of power a year, according to a Market Watch press release.

But the legislature passed a bill Aug. 24 that will allow wind farms and solar plants to be built on top of landfills and quarries.