Vermont Business Magazine As the world continues to deal with the realities of climate change, countries are increasingly turning towards renewable energy sources. Here in the U.S., the Biden administration has set ambitious targets to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by at least 50 percent by 2030, but progress varies by state. According to a new report by The Motley Fool, which looks at renewable energy stats by state, Vermont ranks #3 in terms of percentage of total electric power generated by renewable energy sources.
The top 10 states include*:
- Iowa (62.5%)
- South Dakota (53.8%)
- Vermont (50.5%)
- Kansas (46.6%)
- Oklahoma (44.5%)
- Maine (42.2%)
- New Mexico (40.5%)
- North Dakota (37.2%)
- California (34.7%)
- Colorado (33.8%)
*Figure is percentage of total electric power generated by renewable energy sources.
Progress on renewable energy varies from state to state. Some states get more than half their power from renewables, while others get only a few percent. Here are the latest statistics on renewable energy use by state, including how much they produce and energy industry goals for states that have them.
Key findings
- Iowa uses the highest percentage of renewable energy, with 63% of its energy consumption coming from renewables.
- Kentucky uses the lowest percentage of renewable energy, with less than 1% of its energy consumption coming from renewables.
- Texas produces the most renewable energy (measured in megawatt-hours) of any state.
- Several states have committed to using only carbon-free power over the next few decades.
Renewable energy production by state
The table below shows the amount of renewable energy each state produced over the most recent one-year period on record at the time of writing (the fourth quarter of 2021 through the third quarter of 2022). It also shows the percentage of each state's total power that came from renewable energy sources.
| STATE | TOTAL POWER PRODUCED BY RENEWABLE ENERGY SOURCES (THOUSAND MEGAWATT HOURS) | PERCENTAGE OF POWER PRODUCED BY RENEWABLE ENERGY SOURCES |
|---|---|---|
| Alabama | 4,063 | 2.7% |
| Alaska | 180 | 2.7% |
| Arizona | 8,858 | 8.5% |
| Arkansas | 1,591 | 2.5% |
| California | 69,488 | 34.7% |
| Colorado | 19,481 | 33.8% |
| Connecticut | 1,134 | 2.6% |
| Delaware | 141 | 2.8% |
| Florida | 15,261 | 6.0% |
| Georgia | 12,441 | 9.9% |
| Hawaii | 1,744 | 18.5% |
| Idaho | 3,825 | 22.9% |
| Illinois | 24,382 | 13.0% |
| Indiana | 10,670 | 11.4% |
| Iowa | 43,804 | 62.5% |
| Kansas | 29,429 | 46.6% |
| Kentucky | 468 | 0.7% |
| Louisiana | 2,326 | 2.2% |
| Maine | 4,967 | 42.2% |
| Maryland | 1,565 | 4.1% |
| Massachusetts | 3,140 | 15.0% |
| Michigan | 11,876 | 10.2% |
| Minnesota | 17,170 | 28.3% |
| Mississippi | 1,800 | 2.7% |
| Missouri | 7,711 | 9.8% |
| Montana | 3,959 | 14.9% |
| Nebraska | 11,998 | 29.6% |
| Nevada | 13,091 | 31.2% |
| New Hampshire | 1,491 | 8.4% |
| New Jersey | 2,287 | 3.5% |
| New Mexico | 16,078 | 40.5% |
| New York | 8,170 | 6.5% |
| North Carolina | 13,841 | 10.5% |
| North Dakota | 16,754 | 37.2% |
| Ohio | 4,532 | 3.3% |
| Oklahoma | 37,694 | 44.5% |
| Oregon | 11,427 | 18.1% |
| Pennsylvania | 5,637 | 2.4% |
| Rhode Island | 815 | 9.2% |
| South Carolina | 4,551 | 4.6% |
| South Dakota | 10,195 | 53.8% |
| Tennessee | 1,355 | 1.7% |
| Texas | 136,827 | 26.6% |
| Utah | 5,048 | 12.7% |
| Vermont | 1,058 | 50.5% |
| Virginia | 8,174 | 9.0% |
| Washington | 10,841 | 9.0% |
| West Virginia | 1,946 | 3.4% |
| Wisconsin | 3,740 | 6.1% |
| Wyoming | 10,586 | 23.6% |
Types of renewable energy
States also vary in the types of renewable energy they produce. For example, California's biggest renewable energy source is solar energy. Texas, on the other hand, is known for wind energy.
In the tables below, you'll also see "wood and wood-derived fuels," which are usually the byproducts of lumber and paper milling. "Other biomass" includes other plant-derived materials, including agricultural crops and waste, materials from municipal solid waste, animal manure, and human waste.
You may notice that we haven't included hydroelectric power in these tables, despite it being a notable renewable energy source that provides about 7% of the power in the United States. However, while hydro is renewable, there's debate over whether it's sustainable. Because of this and the fact that the Energy Information Administration lists hydro separately from other renewables, we've opted to omit it from these statistics.
Ranking states by renewable energy production
Next, let's take a closer look at every state, where they rank for renewable energy use, and their largest renewable energy sources. These sections will also include clean energy commitments based on the most recent information from the Clean Energy States Alliance.
How they ranked states
For the ranks mentioned in each state's section below, we looked at the percentage of the total power produced in each state by renewable sources. Even if a state produces a huge amount of renewable power, if that makes up a small proportion of the overall power it produces, it will rank below a state that produces less overall power with a higher percentage of renewables.