America isn’t making electrical energy the way in which it did 20 years in the past.
How the US made electrical energy
from 2001 to 2023
from 2001 to 2023
Proportion of energy produced from every vitality supply
Pure gasoline surpassed coal because the nation’s high supply of energy in 2016, and renewables like wind and photo voltaic have grown rapidly to grow to be main gamers within the U.S. energy system.
However each state has its personal story.
In Nevada, pure gasoline turned the highest supply of electrical energy technology in 2005, sooner than in lots of different locations. Extra lately, solar energy has surged there.
Wind energy has taken off in Iowa over the previous 20 years, beating out coal in 2019 to grow to be the state’s largest supply of energy technology.
Even in Wyoming, the place coal nonetheless dominates electrical energy technology, different sources of energy have made regular beneficial properties.
Fossil fuels nonetheless generate the vast majority of America’s electrical energy, however the shift from coal to pure gasoline and renewable energy has helped scale back planet-warming carbon dioxide emissions and different dangerous air pollution.
Final yr, coal was the highest electrical energy gas in 10 states, down from practically two-thirds of states in 2001. Pure gasoline largely took over throughout that point, however wind additionally emerged as a number one energy supply throughout the Midwest.
Supply: U.S. Power Data Administration
Nonetheless, consultants say there’s a lengthy technique to go if the nation desires to zero out emissions from the ability sector to combat local weather change, a objective set by President Biden.
Switching from coal to gasoline “will get you a part of the way in which there,” mentioned Melissa Lott, a researcher on the Heart on World Power Coverage at Columbia College, as a result of burning pure gasoline for energy produces fewer carbon dioxide emissions than burning coal. However fewer emissions is just not the identical as zero emissions, she added. “Many extra applied sciences, together with renewables, should be constructed rapidly to get us all the way in which to our local weather targets,” Dr. Lott mentioned.
Mr. Biden’s signature local weather and vitality legislation, the 2022 Inflation Discount Act, aimed to turbocharge the expansion of renewable wind and photo voltaic vitality nationwide and to assist different clear energy applied sciences like nuclear vitality, superior batteries and carbon seize and storage for gasoline crops. However the way forward for that legislation stays unsure in an election yr, with Republicans promising to repeal lots of its clean-energy provisions.
What occurs on the federal stage is just a part of the equation. States have the ability to speed up, decelerate or block clear vitality, too.
We charted how electrical energy technology has modified in each state up to now, from 2001 to 2023, utilizing information from the US Power Data Administration. Discover your state under:
How Alabama made electrical energy
from 2001 to 2023
from 2001 to 2023
Proportion of energy produced from every vitality supply
In 2001, coal fueled greater than half of the electrical energy produced in Alabama, however most of the state’s getting old coal energy crops have closed since then or shifted to burning cheaper pure gasoline. By 2014, gasoline had grow to be the highest electrical energy supply within the state, adopted by nuclear. And, final yr, coal fueled simply 14 p.c of the state’s electrical energy technology.
Hydro has lengthy been Alabama’s largest supply of renewable energy. The state produced lower than 1 p.c of its energy from photo voltaic vitality final yr.
Alabama generates extra electrical energy than it consumes and usually sends about one-third of its output to close by states. (Exports are usually not proven on the chart above.)
How Alaska made electrical energy
from 2001 to 2023
from 2001 to 2023
Proportion of energy produced from every vitality supply
Pure gasoline has been Alaska’s high supply of energy for 20 years, offering greater than half of the state’s electrical energy in most years. Hydro, petroleum and coal provide many of the relaxation. In 2010, Alaska set a nonbinding objective to supply 50 p.c of its electrical energy from renewable and different vitality sources by 2025, however the state has solely seen a small uptick in wind energy technology since then.
Alaska has its personal electrical grid, which suggests “no matter electrical energy is created there’s what they’re consuming,” mentioned Glenn McGrath, an influence methods analyst on the U.S. Power Data Administration. “It’s about as remoted as you will get.”
Many rural communities in Alaska are usually not related to the principle grid and use diesel mills for energy, though smaller, community-based wind generators have gotten extra widespread.
How Arizona made electrical energy
from 2001 to 2023
from 2001 to 2023
Proportion of energy produced from every vitality supply
Coal was Arizona’s high supply of electrical energy technology till 2016, when pure gasoline surpassed it. Coal-fired technology has declined quickly over the previous decade as a number of the state’s coal energy crops shut down and others switched to cheaper pure gasoline.
In recent times, pure gasoline has taken over because the state’s high supply of energy, with gasoline fueling 46 p.c of Arizona’s electrical energy technology final yr. The state can also be house to the second-largest nuclear energy plant within the nation.
Arizona makes extra electrical energy than it makes use of and exports energy to close by states. (Exports are usually not proven on the chart above.)
The state has ample photo voltaic assets. Its largest utility, Arizona Public Service, set a voluntary objective of getting 65 p.c of its electrical energy from carbon-free sources by 2030 and one hundred pc by 2050. Nonetheless, the utility lobbied towards proposals to codify these renewable targets into legislation.
How Arkansas made electrical energy
from 2001 to 2023
from 2001 to 2023
Proportion of energy produced from every vitality supply
Coal was the biggest supply of electrical energy technology in Arkansas for a lot of the previous 20 years. However its function within the state’s electrical combine diminished over time as pure gasoline energy expanded. After vying with coal for the highest slot, gasoline has been the state’s largest supply of energy technology since 2022.
Arkansas generates extra electrical energy than it consumes and sends energy to close by states. (Exports are usually not proven on the chart above.)
How California made electrical energy
from 2001 to 2023
from 2001 to 2023
Proportion of energy produced from every vitality supply
Pure gasoline has been California’s high electrical energy gas since 2001, however greater than half of the ability produced within the state final yr got here from renewable vitality and different carbon-free sources, together with photo voltaic, wind, geothermal, hydro and nuclear.
Solar energy, particularly, has grown quickly over the previous decade, largely due to supportive state insurance policies. On the identical time, nuclear energy has declined. (One of many state’s two nuclear crops closed in 2012. The opposite is now slated to retire in 2030.)
California has usually led the way in which on clear energy, utilizing state coverage to encourage the adoption of unpolluted energy applied sciences like photo voltaic panels and big grid batteries. In 2018, the state set a objective for utilities to get all of their electrical energy from zero-carbon sources by 2045. State utilities and regulators at the moment are wrestling with how rapidly they will scale back dependence on pure gasoline whereas nonetheless sustaining a dependable energy provide.
California consumes extra electrical energy than it generates inside its borders and usually imports about one-third to one-fifth of the ability it makes use of. (Imports are usually not mirrored within the chart above.)
How Colorado made electrical energy
from 2001 to 2023
from 2001 to 2023
Proportion of energy produced from every vitality supply
Coal has been Colorado’s high supply of electrical energy for greater than 20 years. However coal-fired technology shrank to 32 p.c of the state’s energy combine final yr from 76 p.c in 2001. On the identical time, pure gasoline and wind energy elevated their function within the state’s electrical combine. In recent times, wind generators have equipped greater than 1 / 4 of the electrical energy produced in Colorado, sufficient to grow to be the state’s second-largest supply of electrical energy in 2021 and 2022. However gasoline energy topped wind once more final yr.
Colorado goals to get one hundred pc of its electrical energy from renewable sources by 2040. The state’s largest utility, Xcel Power, plans to section out its remaining coal-burning energy crops by 2030 in favor of cleaner options.
Colorado normally consumes extra electrical energy than it generates and imports energy from close by states. (Imports are usually not proven within the chart above.)
How Connecticut made electrical energy
from 2001 to 2023
from 2001 to 2023
Proportion of energy produced from every vitality supply
Pure gasoline and nuclear vitality have fueled the overwhelming majority of Connecticut’s electrical energy technology over the past 20 years. However gasoline technology has elevated considerably since 2010 and gasoline now provides practically 60 p.c of the ability produced within the state.
On the identical time, the quantity of electrical energy that comes from different fossil fuels, together with coal and petroleum, has declined. Connecticut’s final remaining coal plant, Bridgeport Harbor, retired in 2021.
Connecticut goals to get one hundred pc of its electrical energy from zero-emissions sources by 2040. Final yr, nuclear energy offered 33 p.c of the state’s electrical energy technology and one other 5 p.c got here from renewable sources, principally photo voltaic.
How Delaware made electrical energy
from 2001 to 2023
from 2001 to 2023
Proportion of energy produced from every vitality supply
Pure gasoline displaced coal as the first supply of electrical energy produced in Delaware in 2010 and has dominated the state’s energy combine since then. Coal technology, in the meantime, has dwindled. Coal fueled 70 p.c of the state’s energy technology in 2008, its peak yr, however solely offered backup energy throughout some months final yr.
Partially due to this shift, carbon dioxide emissions from the state’s electrical energy sector have fallen over the previous decade. Delaware requires that state utilities generate or procure 40 p.c of their electrical energy from renewable sources by 2035, together with 10 p.c from photo voltaic.
Energy produced in-state usually provides “a lot lower than the state wants,” in line with the U.S. Power Data Administration. Delaware will get the vast majority of its electrical energy from neighboring states by means of the regional grid. (Imports are usually not proven on the chart above.)
How Florida made electrical energy
from 2001 to 2023
from 2001 to 2023
Proportion of energy produced from every vitality supply
In 2001, greater than one-third of the electrical energy produced in Florida got here from burning coal. Two years later, pure gasoline surpassed coal because the state’s high supply of energy technology and has continued to increase its share within the state’s electrical combine ever since. By final yr, pure gasoline fueled three-fourths of Florida’s electrical energy technology, considerably greater than the nationwide common.
Regardless of its nickname, the Sunshine State has been gradual to undertake solar energy. However utility-scale photo voltaic installations have picked up in the previous few years. Florida is the second-largest producer of electrical energy nationwide, after Texas, however nonetheless imports a small quantity of energy from neighboring states to fulfill shopper demand. (Imports are usually not mirrored within the chart above.)
In 2024, Florida lawmakers handed a invoice that cuts assist for renewable vitality tasks and makes it simpler to construct pure gasoline infrastructure. The brand new legislation prohibits building of offshore wind generators in state waters, repeals state grant packages that encourage vitality conservation and renewable vitality and cancels the state’s voluntary renewable vitality targets.
How Georgia made electrical energy
from 2001 to 2023
from 2001 to 2023
Proportion of energy produced from every vitality supply
Coal offered the vast majority of Georgia’s electrical energy technology by means of the 2000s however declined sharply throughout the 2010s as pure gasoline energy elevated. Gasoline has been the state’s high supply of energy for many of the final decade, with nuclear energy usually in second place.
Georgia is the one state to convey new nuclear capability on-line lately: Two new reactors that opened in 2023 and 2024. They have been the primary new nuclear reactors within the nation to be constructed from scratch in a long time, however the tasks have been suffering from delays and vital value overruns.
Solar energy has additionally grown rapidly within the state lately, offering about 6 p.c of Georgia’s energy in 2023. The state can also be nonetheless increasing fossil gas energy. Georgia Energy, the state’s foremost utility, plans to construct a number of new producing stations fueled by oil and gasoline within the coming years to serve rising energy demand from information facilities and new clean-energy manufacturing hubs.
How Hawaii made electrical energy
from 2001 to 2023
from 2001 to 2023
Proportion of energy produced from every vitality supply
Hawaii has relied closely on imported oil to make electrical energy for the previous 20 years. However the state has an formidable plan to generate all of its energy from clear vitality sources by 2045. In September 2022, Hawaii shut down its final coal-burning energy plant, a serious milestone in the direction of that objective. Final yr, there was no utility-scale coal technology in Hawaii for the primary time because the early Seventies, however delays within the deployment of latest photo voltaic and battery tasks meant oil-fired technology ticked up.
The state lately opened a brand new, large-scale battery storage facility as a part of its technique to exchange the coal energy that was retired. (Battery charging and discharging is just not proven within the charts above, which replicate web technology.)
Photo voltaic technology, principally from small-scale rooftop panels, has grown quickly within the state over the previous decade and offered practically 20 p.c of Hawaii’s energy final yr. In whole, about 31 p.c of the state’s electrical energy was made by renewable sources in 2023.
How Idaho made electrical energy
from 2001 to 2023
from 2001 to 2023
Proportion of energy produced from every vitality supply
Hydro generated the overwhelming majority of Idaho’s electrical energy throughout the 2000s and early 2010s. However lately, drought circumstances have pushed down the quantity of hydroelectric energy produced within the state. Idaho nonetheless makes the vast majority of its electrical energy from renewable sources, with hydro offering 43 p.c of in-state energy technology final yr and wind and photo voltaic collectively offering one other 22 p.c. However pure gasoline energy has expanded considerably on the identical time.
Idaho additionally imports a large quantity of energy from out of state to fulfill its electrical energy wants. Prior to now, a lot of this energy has come from coal-fired mills in neighboring states, however Oregon closed its final coal plant in 2020 and different close by coal crops are scheduled to close down over the following a number of years. (Imports are usually not proven on the chart.)
How Illinois made electrical energy
from 2001 to 2023
from 2001 to 2023
Proportion of energy produced from every vitality supply
Nuclear vitality has been Illinois’s high supply of energy technology for a lot of the final 20 years, accounting for about half of the electrical energy produced within the state throughout most years. Coal was lengthy the second-largest energy supply, briefly surpassing nuclear as the highest technology gas in 2004 and once more in 2008. However coal’s function within the state energy combine has declined considerably lately as older coal-fired energy crops have retired or been transformed to burn pure gasoline. Each pure gasoline and wind technology have grown over the previous decade, and final yr gasoline surpassed coal because the second-largest supply of energy within the state.
In 2021, Illinois set a objective of getting 100 of its energy from carbon-free vitality sources by 2050, however the state has struggled to fulfill shorter-term targets. Illinois produces significantly extra electrical energy than it makes use of and sends about one-fifth to Mid-Atlantic and Midwestern states by means of long-distance transmission traces. (Exports are usually not proven on the chart.)
How Indiana made electrical energy
from 2001 to 2023
from 2001 to 2023
Proportion of energy produced from every vitality supply
Coal fueled many of the electrical energy made in Indiana for greater than 20 years, however its share within the state’s energy combine has declined as pure gasoline technology has taken off and older coal-fired energy crops have retired. Final yr, gasoline offered practically 40 p.c of the state’s electrical energy technology, up from 2 p.c in 2001.
About 14 p.c of the state’s electrical energy got here from renewable sources final yr, principally wind. Over the previous decade, Indiana has used extra electrical energy every year than it produces inside its borders and imported the remaining from out of state. (Imports are usually not proven on the chart above.)
How Iowa made electrical energy
from 2001 to 2023
from 2001 to 2023
Proportion of energy produced from every vitality supply
Wind energy has taken off in Iowa over the previous decade, surpassing coal because the state’s high supply of electrical energy in 2019. Wind generators offered simply 1 p.c of the electrical energy produced within the state in 2001 and practically 60 p.c final yr. Over the identical interval, coal-fired technology considerably declined.
In absolute phrases, the state, one of many windiest within the nation, was the second-largest producer of wind energy final yr, after Texas. However, as Iowa’s wind capability has grown, so has native opposition to new tasks. In recent times, numerous Iowa counties have paused the development of latest wind generators and a few photo voltaic tasks, too.
In 1983, Iowa turned the primary state within the nation to move laws requiring utilities to get some quantity of electrical energy from renewable assets, however the state has not up to date these requirements since. Iowa exports a few of its energy to close by states over the regional electrical grid. (Exports are usually not proven on the chart above.)
How Kansas made electrical energy
from 2001 to 2023
from 2001 to 2023
Proportion of energy produced from every vitality supply
Kansas, like many states throughout the Nice Plains, has seen vital development in wind energy over the previous decade as builders put up hundreds of generators to seize the sturdy winds blowing throughout the open prairie. In 2019, wind surpassed coal to grow to be Kansas’s largest supply of electrical energy technology and has remained the state’s high energy producer since then.
Kansas produces extra energy than it consumes and sends a few quarter to different states by means of the regional grid. (Exports are usually not proven on the chart above.)
How Kentucky made electrical energy
from 2001 to 2023
from 2001 to 2023
Proportion of energy produced from every vitality supply
Coal nonetheless generates the vast majority of the electrical energy produced in Kentucky, a longtime coal mining state. However numerous the state’s older, coal-fired energy crops have shut down or been transformed to burn pure gasoline over the previous decade. Coal fueled 68 p.c of the ability produced within the state final yr, down from greater than 90 p.c throughout many of the 2000s and early 2010s.
How Louisiana made electrical energy
from 2001 to 2023
from 2001 to 2023
Proportion of energy produced from every vitality supply
Pure gasoline has lengthy offered the majority of electrical energy technology in Louisiana, one of many high gas-producing states within the nation. However as coal technology declined lately, gasoline additional expanded its share of the state’s electrical combine. Final yr, gasoline accounted for 76 p.c of electrical energy made within the state, up from 46 p.c in 2001. Throughout that point, coal-fired technology declined, dropping from its place because the second-largest supply of energy within the state to a distant third place.
Louisiana additionally imports some electrical energy from neighboring states. (Imports are usually not proven within the chart above.)
How Maine made electrical energy
from 2001 to 2023
from 2001 to 2023
Proportion of energy produced from every vitality supply
A lot of the electrical energy generated in Maine final yr got here from renewable sources. Collectively, hydroelectric dams, wind generators, photo voltaic arrays and biomass crops, which burn wooden and different natural supplies, produced about 69 p.c of the state’s energy.
Nonetheless, the whole quantity of energy generated in Maine, notably from pure gasoline and petroleum, has declined considerably over the past 20 years. The state now imports between 10 and 30 p.c of its electrical energy every year from different close by states and Canada. (Imports are usually not proven on the chart above.)
Maine has a objective of getting one hundred pc of its electrical energy from renewable sources by 2050.
How Maryland made electrical energy
from 2001 to 2023
from 2001 to 2023
Proportion of energy produced from every vitality supply
Coal produced the majority of Maryland’s energy by means of the early 2010s, however its function within the state’s electrical energy combine has declined considerably over the past decade. Coal fueled simply 5 p.c of electrical energy made within the state final yr, down from greater than 40 p.c a decade earlier (and a good higher share earlier than then). Nuclear energy turned the biggest supply of electrical energy technology in 2015 and rapidly rising pure gasoline energy surpassed nuclear for the primary time final yr.
Whereas solar energy remains to be a small a part of the state’s technology combine, it has grown quickly over the previous a number of years, beating out hydro because the state’s largest supply of renewable electrical energy. Maryland requires that fifty p.c of the electrical energy offered by utilities within the state come from renewable sources by 2030.
Maryland consumes extra energy than it generates and imports a major quantity of electrical energy from different Mid-Atlantic States by means of the regional grid. (Imports are usually not proven on the chart above.)
How Massachusetts made electrical energy
from 2001 to 2023
from 2001 to 2023
Proportion of energy produced from every vitality supply
Pure gasoline has expanded its share of electrical energy technology in Massachusetts over the previous 20 years as different sources of energy have declined. Coal-fired technology petered out within the state by 2018. And petroleum, which is generally used to fulfill peak electrical energy demand throughout the winter, now offers solely a small fraction of the ability it did 20 years in the past. The state’s solely nuclear plant, which was accountable for between 10 and 20 p.c of the state’s electrical energy technology in earlier years, shut down completely in 2019, partly due to competitors from cheaper pure gasoline.
Solely solar energy has bucked the development: The quantity of electrical energy created from photo voltaic vitality, largely by means of small-scale rooftop panels, has grown considerably since 2013 and now offers practically 1 / 4 of the state’s energy. Nonetheless, Massachusetts makes much less energy at this time in absolute phrases than it did 20 years in the past and now imports about half of its energy from different Northeastern states by means of the regional grid. (Imports are usually not proven within the chart above.)
Massachusetts lawmakers have sought to encourage the adoption of extra photo voltaic and wind energy. (The state’s first offshore wind venture began producing electrical energy this yr.) The state requires utilities to get 80 p.c of the electrical energy they promote from renewable sources by 2050.
How Michigan made electrical energy
from 2001 to 2023
from 2001 to 2023
Proportion of energy produced from every vitality supply
Coal was the highest supply of electrical energy produced in Michigan for many of the final 20 years, however coal-fired technology declined steadily throughout the 2010s and 2020s as pure gasoline energy expanded. After years of development, gasoline turned the state’s high supply of electrical energy for the primary time in 2020 and retook that high slot in 2022 and 2023. Nuclear was the second largest supply of energy produced within the state final yr, with coal falling to 3rd place.
Nuclear vitality is the state’s largest supply of emissions-free energy. It fueled 23 p.c of the electrical energy produced within the state final yr. Wind energy generated a further 7 p.c, and photo voltaic delivered lower than 2 p.c. Michigan lately set a objective to get one hundred pc of its electrical energy from zero-carbon vitality sources by 2040.
To shore up extra emissions-free energy, Michigan now desires to reopen a nuclear plant that shut down in 2022, with assist from a $1.5 billion mortgage from the Biden administration. If the plan goes by means of, it will be the primary shuttered nuclear plant to reopen in the US.
How Minnesota made electrical energy
from 2001 to 2023
from 2001 to 2023
Proportion of energy produced from every vitality supply
Coal was the highest supply of electrical energy produced in Minnesota for years, however its technology share has declined over the past 20 years and, in 2020, coal-fired energy technology dropped under nuclear for the primary time. Wind energy, in the meantime, grew from 2 p.c of the state’s whole technology in 2001 to 25 p.c in 2023. Wind turned the state’s high energy producer final yr.
Emissions-free vitality sources, together with wind, photo voltaic and nuclear energy, now present greater than 50 p.c of the ability produced in Minnesota. State legislation requires electrical utilities to generate or procure one hundred pc of their electrical energy from carbon-free sources by 2040. Minnesota additionally imports some energy from different states by means of the shared regional grid. (Imports are usually not proven on the chart above.)
How Mississippi made electrical energy
from 2001 to 2023
from 2001 to 2023
Proportion of energy produced from every vitality supply
Pure gasoline powered greater than three-quarters of the electrical energy generated in Mississippi final yr. Coal, as soon as the state’s high supply of electrical energy, has declined considerably over the previous decade as pure gasoline costs have fallen. Coal offered 36 p.c of the electrical energy produced within the state in 2001, however simply 5 p.c in 2023.
Mississippi produces extra energy than it makes use of and exports the excess to different states. (Exports are usually not proven on the charts above.)
How Missouri made electrical energy
from 2001 to 2023
from 2001 to 2023
Proportion of energy produced from every vitality supply
Missouri’s electrical energy technology combine has been dominated by coal for greater than 20 years. Nonetheless, coal-fired energy declined to 59 p.c of all electrical energy generated within the state in 2023 from 82 p.c in 2001 as older coal crops went offline or switched to pure gasoline. Gasoline- and wind-powered technology have made beneficial properties over the previous decade, however, regardless of a dip in 2021, nuclear stays the state’s second largest supply of energy.
Missouri usually makes use of extra electrical energy than it generates in-state and pulls energy from different states by means of regional grids. (Electrical energy imports are usually not proven on the charts above.)
How Montana made electrical energy
from 2001 to 2023
from 2001 to 2023
Proportion of energy produced from every vitality supply
Coal has been the highest supply of electrical energy produced in Montana for many of the previous 20 years, however its share of the state’s technology combine has declined as wind energy has grown and older coal-fired energy crops have been retired. Hydro, lengthy the state’s second-largest supply of electrical energy, briefly surpassed coal as the highest power-producer in 2020, however hydroelectric technology dropped considerably by 2023 amid drought circumstances.
Montanans solely use about two-thirds of the electrical energy produced within the state. A lot of the remaining is shipped to Washington and Oregon by way of interstate transmission traces. New transmission tasks are in growth that would increase how a lot Montana-generated electrical energy strikes to different states (and the opposite means round, when wanted).
How Nebraska made electrical energy
from 2001 to 2023
from 2001 to 2023
Proportion of energy produced from every vitality supply
Coal has been the highest supply of electrical energy produced in Nebraska for greater than 20 years, however its technology share has declined lately as wind energy has surged. The quantity of nuclear energy produced in Nebraska additionally declined after one of many state’s two nuclear crops, Fort Calhoun, completely shut down in 2016 for financial causes.
Nebraska, like many Nice Plains states, has glorious wind assets, in line with the U.S. Power Data Administration, however as extra wind generators and photo voltaic farms have been constructed, native opposition to the tasks has elevated. A number of Nebraska counties lately put in place moratoriums on new wind and photo voltaic tasks, and others have instituted strict necessities for the place they are often constructed.
Nebraska produces extra energy than it consumes at house and sends the remaining to different states by means of long-distance transmission traces. (Exports are usually not proven on the chart above.)
How Nevada made electrical energy
from 2001 to 2023
from 2001 to 2023
Proportion of energy produced from every vitality supply
Pure gasoline surpassed coal as Nevada’s high supply of energy technology in 2005 and has been the state’s largest electrical energy provider since. Extra lately, photo voltaic has surged to grow to be the state’s second-largest supply of electrical energy.
Within the meantime, coal energy has continued to say no. Lots of the state’s older, coal-fired energy crops have shuttered over the previous 20 years due to competitors from cheaper pure gasoline and state legal guidelines that require renewable vitality growth. Nevada’s two remaining coal crops are scheduled to be transformed to pure gasoline by 2026.
Final yr, about 40 p.c of the ability produced within the state got here from renewable vitality. Giant-scale photo voltaic arrays and rooftop panels offered 26 p.c. Geothermal crops, which harvest warmth from deep beneath the Earth’s floor, equipped a further 10 p.c. A lot of the relaxation got here from hydro. (The Hoover Dam, one of many nation’s largest hydroelectric dams, sits on Nevada’s border with Arizona, offering energy to each states.)
The fast development of solar energy lately has prompted the state to strengthen its targets for renewable vitality. Nevada legislation now requires that fifty p.c of the electrical energy offered by utilities within the state come from renewable sources by 2030.
How New Hampshire made electrical energy
from 2001 to 2023
from 2001 to 2023
Proportion of energy produced from every vitality supply
The majority of electrical energy generated in New Hampshire over the previous 20 years has come from the state’s solely nuclear reactor, Seabrook Station. Pure gasoline has been the state’s second-largest supply of energy because the early 2000s, when two new producing stations went on-line. The share of electrical energy equipped by coal has declined over the previous 20 years, shrinking to about 1 p.c in 2023 from 25 p.c in 2001.
New Hampshire at present generates about 16 p.c of its electrical energy from renewable sources, principally hydro and biomass, a kind of vitality that comes from burning wooden and different natural matter. The state requires utilities to get 25 p.c of the ability they promote to prospects from renewable sources by 2025, a goal they will fulfill by buying renewable vitality credit.
New Hampshire produces extra energy than it consumes and sends the surplus to different New England states and Canada. (Exports are usually not proven on the chart above.)
How New Jersey made electrical energy
from 2001 to 2023
from 2001 to 2023
Proportion of energy produced from every vitality supply
Nuclear was the highest supply of electrical energy technology in New Jersey till 2015, when pure gasoline surpassed it for the primary time. Over the previous decade, pure gasoline and nuclear vitality have produced virtually the entire state’s electrical energy, however photo voltaic has made inroads, supplying 7 p.c of energy final yr.
In 2018, the state’s Oyster Creek nuclear plant, the oldest within the nation on the time, closed down, partly due to competitors from cheaper pure gasoline. That very same yr, the New Jersey Legislature accepted new subsidies to maintain the state’s remaining three nuclear crops worthwhile. The governor, Philip D. Murphy, mentioned the crops offered essential, emissions-free energy that will not contribute to local weather change and pointed to “the hundreds of jobs they assist.”
New Jersey has a renewable vitality normal that requires 35 p.c of the electrical energy offered within the state to return from renewable sources by 2025, with that requirement growing to 50 p.c by 2030. To assist attain these targets, the state desires to construct wind farms off its coast, the place there’s appreciable wind energy potential. However proposed tasks have stirred up fierce native opposition.
The state consumes extra energy than it produces inside its borders and imports electrical energy from close by states by means of the regional grid. (Imports are usually not included on the chart above.)
How New Mexico made electrical energy
from 2001 to 2023
from 2001 to 2023
Proportion of energy produced from every vitality supply
Coal was New Mexico’s main supply of electrical energy technology for many of the final 20 years. However coal-fired energy has declined because the 2000s in response to more durable air high quality laws, cheaper pure gasoline and California’s resolution in 2014 to cease buying electrical energy generated from coal in neighboring states. Over the previous decade, wind-powered technology has surged in New Mexico, and, in 2022, wind surpassed coal as the highest supply of electrical energy produced within the state.
New Mexico has a number of the greatest wind, photo voltaic and geothermal vitality assets within the nation, in line with the U.S. Power Data Administration. Final yr, the state produced greater than 46 p.c of its energy from renewable vitality, principally wind and photo voltaic. State legislation requires investor-owned utilities to get 50 p.c of the electrical energy they promote from renewable sources by 2030, and one hundred pc from a broader array of carbon-free sources by 2045.
The state already exports a major quantity of electrical energy to Arizona and California, but it surely may quickly grow to be a good greater energy provider. Final yr, officers broke floor on a serious new transmission venture that can ship renewable wind energy from central New Mexico to more-populated components of the West. (Exports are usually not proven on the chart above.)
How New York made electrical energy
from 2001 to 2023
from 2001 to 2023
Proportion of energy produced from every vitality supply
Pure gasoline and nuclear vitality have fueled the vast majority of New York’s electrical energy for the previous 20 years. However gasoline has expanded its function within the state’s energy combine throughout that point, whereas nuclear technology declined lately. The state shut down its controversial Indian Level nuclear plant in 2021, inflicting nuclear technology to fall and greenhouse gasoline emissions to rise.
Final yr, about 32 p.c of the ability produced in New York got here from renewable sources, principally hydro. The state turned on its first offshore wind farm on the finish of the yr however has struggled to get different offshore wind tasks off the bottom. The state’s formidable local weather legislation requires utilities to get 70 p.c of the electrical energy they promote from renewable sources by 2030 and to shift completely to carbon-free energy a decade later.
New York tends to devour extra electrical energy than it produces and at present imports energy from neighboring states and Canada. (Electrical energy imports are usually not included on the chart above.)
How North Carolina made electrical energy
from 2001 to 2023
from 2001 to 2023
Proportion of energy produced from every vitality supply
Coal-fired energy crops offered the vast majority of North Carolina’s electrical energy technology throughout the 2000s , however 32 of the state’s coal-burning models have retired since 2010 and coal’s share within the state electrical energy combine has dwindled. Pure gasoline, in the meantime, has surged to grow to be North Carolina’s high supply of energy, producing greater than 40 p.c of the state’s electrical energy final yr.
North Carolina additionally will get practically a tenth of its energy from photo voltaic. The state’s distinctive implementation of a decades-old federal mandate, the Public Utility Regulatory Insurance policies Act of 1978, helped encourage the event of utility-scale photo voltaic tasks, however the development of solar energy has slowed lately.
In 2021, a bipartisan invoice handed by state lawmakers required North Carolina’s largest utility, Duke Power, to realize a 70 p.c discount in carbon dioxide emissions from 2005 ranges by the top of the last decade. However this yr, Duke Power requested for extra time to fulfill that deadline and for permission to construct a fleet of latest gas-burning energy crops.
How North Dakota made electrical energy
from 2001 to 2023
from 2001 to 2023
Proportion of energy produced from every vitality supply
As in lots of Nice Plains states, wind energy has grown quickly in North Dakota. Final yr, wind generators generated 36 p.c of the state’s electrical energy, greater than twice as a lot as a decade earlier than. However coal nonetheless dominates the state’s electrical combine.
North Dakota has each substantial coal reserves and ample wind. The state produces considerably extra electrical energy than is consumed inside its borders and sends about two-thirds to neighboring states and Canada by means of high-voltage transmission traces. (Exports are usually not included on the chart above.)
How Ohio made electrical energy
from 2001 to 2023
from 2001 to 2023
Proportion of energy produced from every vitality supply
Coal was Ohio’s foremost supply of energy for a lot of the final 20 years, however a increase in hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, introduced cheaper pure gasoline within the 2010s and utilities shut down a number of giant coal crops. Gasoline took over because the state’s high supply of electrical energy in 2019 and now fuels practically 60 p.c of the state’s energy technology.
Ohio produces a further 12 p.c of its electrical energy from two nuclear crops alongside Lake Erie, which have additionally confronted stiff value competitors from gasoline. In 2019, Ohio lawmakers handed a invoice that gave the state’s nuclear energy crops greater than $1 billion in subsidies to remain open, bailed out two coal crops and weakened the state’s renewable electrical energy necessities. The nuclear subsidies have been repealed in 2021 amid a serious public corruption scandal, however different components of the legislation have remained in place.
Ohio will get a small portion of its energy from renewable sources at this time: About 2 p.c from wind vitality and 1 p.c from photo voltaic. A couple of-fourth of Ohio counties have banned or restricted the development of latest wind or photo voltaic tasks since 2021 when one other state legislation gave county officers decision-making energy over the place to find renewable vitality.
How Oklahoma made electrical energy
from 2001 to 2023
from 2001 to 2023
Proportion of energy produced from every vitality supply
The vast majority of Oklahoma’s energy technology has traditionally come from fossil fuels, however wind energy has surged within the state over the previous decade. Coal was the state’s high energy producer within the 2000s, however pure gasoline started competing for the highest slot within the late 2000s and early 2010s and coal energy declined sharply over the following decade. Wind energy has grown rapidly within the meantime, briefly changing into the state’s largest energy producer in 2022 earlier than dropping under gasoline once more final yr.
Oklahoma was the third-largest producer of wind energy within the nation final yr, behind Texas and Iowa. The state generates extra electrical energy than it consumes and sends its additional energy to different states over the regional grid. (Exports are usually not included on the chart above.)
How Oregon made electrical energy
from 2001 to 2023
from 2001 to 2023
Proportion of energy produced from every vitality supply
A lot of the electrical energy produced in Oregon in any given yr comes from hydroelectric dams, however the actual quantity can fluctuate relying on precipitation. Energy from pure gasoline usually will increase throughout drought years and reduces in years with ample rain and snow.
Over the previous decade, wind has grown to grow to be the third-largest supply of electrical energy generated within the state. In an effort to encourage extra non-hydroelectric renewable energy, Oregon requires its giant, investor-owned utilities to get 50 p.c of the electrical energy they promote to prospects from new renewable vitality sources by 2040. Different utilities are topic to decrease requirements.
In most years, Oregon exports a few of its energy to close by states. (Exports are usually not included within the chart above.)
How Pennsylvania made electrical energy
from 2001 to 2023
from 2001 to 2023
Proportion of energy produced from every vitality supply
Coal was Pennsylvania’s high supply of electrical energy till 2014, however its function within the state’s energy combine has declined sharply since then as pure gasoline has surged.
Gasoline manufacturing from hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, unleashed a flood of low cost pure gasoline in Pennsylvania beginning within the 2000s. In consequence, electrical utilities started closing down older coal crops in favor of newer gas-powered generators.
Gasoline is now placing stress on the state’s nuclear crops, too. After one of many state’s nuclear energy crops, Three Mile Island, shut down in 2019, pro-nuclear teams sought state subsidies to maintain the remaining reactors open, saying that the lack of this emissions-free electrical energy is dangerous information for local weather change. Final yr, nuclear fueled 32 p.c of the state’s energy technology, whereas different carbon-free sources equipped lower than 4 p.c.
Pennsylvania is the nation’s third-largest producer of electrical energy, behind Texas and Florida, and the state is a serious provider of energy to the remainder of the Mid-Atlantic area. (Electrical energy exports are usually not proven on the chart above.)
How Rhode Island made electrical energy
from 2001 to 2023
from 2001 to 2023
Proportion of energy produced from every vitality supply
Pure gasoline dominates electrical energy technology in Rhode Island, however photo voltaic vitality has grown rapidly lately. Photo voltaic equipped 12 p.c of the state’s electrical energy final yr, up from lower than 1 p.c in 2017.
Rhode Island tightened its renewable vitality normal in 2022 and now requires state electrical energy suppliers to get one hundred pc of the ability they promote to customers from renewable sources by 2033. The state consumes extra electrical energy than it generates and imports additional energy by means of New England’s regional grid. (Imports are usually not included on the chart above.)
How South Carolina made electrical energy
from 2001 to 2023
from 2001 to 2023
Proportion of energy produced from every vitality supply
The vast majority of the electrical energy generated in South Carolina has come from nuclear energy for greater than 20 years. However technology from pure gasoline has greater than doubled within the state over the previous decade as coal energy has declined. Gasoline overtook coal in 2018 because the state’s second-largest energy producer.
In 2017, utilities in South Carolina deserted plans to construct two new nuclear reactors after main delays and billion-dollar value overruns. The state produced lower than 8 p.c of its energy from renewable sources final yr, principally photo voltaic and hydro.
South Carolina produces extra energy than it consumes and sends the excess to neighboring states. (Exports are usually not included on the chart above.)
How South Dakota made electrical energy
from 2001 to 2023
from 2001 to 2023
Proportion of energy produced from every vitality supply
Hydroelectric dams equipped the majority of electrical energy technology in South Dakota for a lot of the previous 20 years, however coal surpassed hydro because the state’s high energy producer throughout three years — 2001, 2004 and 2008 — and, extra lately, wind energy has taken over.
Coal’s share of the state technology combine has declined considerably because the 2010s. Wind, nevertheless, has surged. Wind vitality has been South Dakota’s high supply of energy since 2021, supplying greater than half of the state’s electrical energy technology final yr.
South Dakota makes far more energy at this time than it did 20 years in the past and exports electrical energy throughout the Central and Western United States. (Exports are usually not proven on the chart above.)
How Tennessee made electrical energy
from 2001 to 2023
from 2001 to 2023
Proportion of energy produced from every vitality supply
Coal was Tennessee’s high supply of electrical energy technology between 2001 and 2016, however its share of the state’s energy combine has declined considerably over the previous decade. In 2016, a brand new nuclear reactor was lastly accomplished in Tennessee after a long time of delays. In 2017, coal-powered technology dipped under nuclear for the primary time in practically 20 years. Extra lately, rising pure gasoline technology has vied with coal because the state’s second largest energy producer.
Tennessee consumes extra energy than it produces and makes up the shortfall by importing electrical energy from close by states. (Imports are usually not included on the chart above.)
How Texas made electrical energy
from 2001 to 2023
from 2001 to 2023
Proportion of energy produced from every vitality supply
Texas produces extra electrical energy than every other state, by a large margin, and its energy combine has lengthy been led by pure gasoline. Coal-fired technology within the state has declined over the previous decade as wind energy has elevated. In 2020, wind surpassed coal to grow to be the second-largest supply of electrical energy technology in Texas.
The state is, by far, the nation’s largest producer of wind energy at this time, with Iowa and Oklahoma in a distant second and third place. In recent times, solar energy has additionally surged within the state, rising from 1 p.c of the state’s electrical combine in 2019 to six p.c final yr.
Utilities and companies within the state have largely turned to wind and solar energy as a result of they’re so low cost to construct, and never due to state mandates. Nonetheless, the state has cleared most of the boundaries to constructing new renewable tasks and different vitality infrastructure, creating “an atmosphere the place this stuff can thrive,” Dr. Lott of Columbia College mentioned.
However at the same time as energy technology from renewable sources soars, in absolute phrases, Texas continues to burn extra pure gasoline and extra coal than every other state.
Not like most different states, Texas operates its personal energy grid, which is just minimally related to the nation’s different regional grids. Meaning Texas is basically dependent by itself assets to fulfill its electrical energy wants.
How Utah made electrical energy
from 2001 to 2023
from 2001 to 2023
Proportion of energy produced from every vitality supply
The vast majority of electrical energy produced in Utah nonetheless comes from coal, however coal’s share of the state’s energy combine has declined over the past decade as pure gasoline and photo voltaic technology have elevated.
Photo voltaic is the biggest renewable supply of energy within the state, offering 14 p.c of Utah’s electrical energy technology final yr. Utah has a objective for utilities to generate or procure 20 p.c of the electrical energy they promote to prospects from renewable sources by 2025.
The state produces extra vitality than it consumes and sends the excess to close by states, like California. (Exports are usually not included on the chart above.)
At the very least one Utah energy plant is switching from burning coal to pure gasoline to adjust to California’s stricter environmental laws. However Utah lawmakers are methods to maintain the coal energy plant working alongside the brand new gasoline facility.
How Vermont made electrical energy
from 2001 to 2023
from 2001 to 2023
Proportion of energy produced from every vitality supply
A lot of the electrical energy generated in Vermont got here from nuclear energy till 2014, when the state’s solely nuclear plant, Vermont Yankee, closed down. Since then, just about the entire electrical energy produced within the state has come from renewable sources, together with hydropower, biomass, wind and photo voltaic.
However Vermont now generates a lot much less electrical energy, in whole, than it did earlier than the nuclear plant shut down and has to import a considerable quantity of energy from different New England states and Canada to fulfill demand. (Imports are usually not proven on the chart above.)
Vermont lately strengthened its renewable vitality normal to require that one hundred pc of electrical energy offered within the state come from renewable sources by 2035.
How Virginia made electrical energy
from 2001 to 2023
from 2001 to 2023
Proportion of energy produced from every vitality supply
Coal was the highest supply of electrical energy produced in Virginia between 2001 and 2008, however its share has declined since then. By 2015, pure gasoline had grow to be the state’s largest supply of electrical energy, a results of the nationwide increase in hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, which unleashed a wave of low cost, plentiful gasoline. Nuclear technology has offered somewhat greater than one-third of Virginia’s electrical energy, on common, over the previous 20 years.
In 2020, Virginia’s Democratic-led Legislature handed a clear vitality legislation that established new vitality effectivity requirements, set a schedule for closing outdated fossil gas energy crops and required the state’s two largest utilities get all of their electrical energy from carbon-free sources by 2050. However a brand new, Republican administration has pushed to revise that legislation and shift the state’s focus towards an “the entire above” vitality technique that features higher assist for pure gasoline energy.
The entire quantity of energy produced in Virginia has been rising, however the state can also be dealing with rising demand from power-hungry information facilities. Dominion Power, the state’s largest electrical utility, has proposed assembly that demand with a mixture of new renewable energy and gasoline technology in a plan that would enhance the corporate’s total emissions.
Virginia at present consumes extra electrical energy than it generates and will get further energy from two regional grids that serve the state. (Imports are usually not included on the chart above.)
How Washington made electrical energy
from 2001 to 2023
from 2001 to 2023
Proportion of energy produced from every vitality supply
Washington is the nation’s largest producer of hydroelectric energy, which has dominated the state’s technology combine for greater than 20 years. The quantity of energy produced by hydro fluctuates from yr to yr with modifications in precipitation, and different sources — together with pure gasoline, nuclear, wind and coal — make up virtually the entire relaxation.
Washington produces extra electrical energy than it consumes and exports energy to Canada and different Western states. (Exports are usually not proven on the chart above.)
In 2019, the state required its electrical utilities to transition totally away from fossil fuels as an influence supply by 2045.
How West Virginia made electrical energy
from 2001 to 2023
from 2001 to 2023
Proportion of energy produced from every vitality supply
Coal nonetheless dominates West Virginia’s energy combine. It has equipped greater than 85 p.c of the electrical energy produced within the state yearly for greater than 20 years. Whereas pure gasoline and wind have elevated their technology share over the previous decade, they nonetheless account for a comparatively small portion of the electrical energy produced within the state.
In 2015, West Virginia turned the primary state to repeal its renewable vitality normal after years of lobbying by conservative teams. The legislation required utilities to get 25 p.c of their electrical energy from different and renewable vitality sources by 2025. Opponents of the usual mentioned it was hurting coal jobs and elevating electrical energy charges, whereas supporters mentioned it will assist to diversify the state’s electrical sector at a time when the nationwide coal market was in decline.
The entire quantity of energy generated by West Virginia has declined over the previous 20 years as coal energy has been squeezed by competitors from cheaper regional sources and older coal-fired energy crops have retired. However the state nonetheless generates extra electrical energy than it consumes and provides a major quantity of energy to different Mid-Atlantic States by means of the shared regional grid. (Exports are usually not pictured within the chart above.)
How Wisconsin made electrical energy
from 2001 to 2023
from 2001 to 2023
Proportion of energy produced from every vitality supply
Coal was lengthy Wisconsin’s high supply of electrical energy technology, however, after years of fast development, pure gasoline took over because the state’s largest energy producer in 2022. Wind and solar energy have grown rapidly within the state lately, however each sources stay comparatively small gamers in Wisconsin’s electrical energy combine.
In 2019, Gov. Tony Evers, a Democrat, set a objective for the state to shift to one hundred pc carbon-free electrical energy by 2050 and created a brand new state workplace to steer the transition. However the proposal has confronted opposition from the Republican-led Legislature.
Wisconsin makes use of extra electrical energy than it generates in-state, so it imports further energy from the regional electrical grid. (Imports are usually not proven on the chart above.)
How Wyoming made electrical energy
from 2001 to 2023
from 2001 to 2023
Proportion of energy produced from every vitality supply
The overwhelming majority of electrical energy generated in Wyoming nonetheless comes from coal, however wind energy has made inroads over the previous decade. Final yr, wind equipped greater than a fifth of the electrical energy produced within the state.
Wyoming has been the nation’s high coal-producing state for many years and the state can also be house to “a number of the biggest wind assets within the nation,” in line with the U.S. Power Data Administration.
Due to its small inhabitants, Wyoming produces far more energy than it consumes and sends about 60 p.c out of state. A number of main transmission line tasks are at present in growth to maneuver extra of Wyoming’s ample wind energy to different Western states. (Exports are usually not pictured within the chart above.)
Information notes and methodology
Information comes from the U.S. Power Data Administration and displays web electrical energy technology between 2001 and 2023, damaged out by gas supply. The information consists of utility-scale energy technology and small-scale technology from applied sciences like rooftop photo voltaic, in addition to industrial and industrial cogeneration. Information for 2023 is preliminary.
Cross-state imports and exports of electrical energy are usually not proven within the charts, however electrical energy routinely flows between states and most states belong partly or in complete to wider energy markets. Nonetheless, every state has the ability to form its power-generation combine by means of laws. How states generate electrical energy can also be influenced by the provision of native and regional vitality assets. For instance: Plentiful wind within the Midwest, plentiful sunshine within the Southwest, and native coal in West Virginia and Wyoming.
The charts don’t replicate technology from pumped hydro or grid-scale battery storage as a result of charging and discharging are usually not reported individually by the E.I.A.
