Within weeks of taking office, President Joe Biden issued a series of executive orders aimed at making the U.S. carbon neutral by 2050. This goal hinges on eliminating greenhouse gas emissions in electricity production — which necessitate a shift away from fossil fuels, like natural gas and coal, toward clean renewable energy sources, like wind and solar.

Currently, only 17.7% of electricity produced in the United States comes from renewable sources. Nationwide, wind turbines generate the most electricity, followed by hydroelectric power plants and solar thermal power. Biomass, such as wood and agricultural waste, as well as geothermal energy, are renewable sources that account for a very small share of the U.S. energy mix.

Meanwhile, greenhouse gas-emitting coal and natural gas-fired power plants account for over half of all U.S. electricity production.

While, as a nation, the U.S. has a long way to go to achieve carbon neutrality, at a state level, progress is patchy. In some states, less than 5% of electricity production comes from renewable sources, while in others, fossil fuels have been virtually phased out.

Of the 62.3 million MWh of electricity produced in Oregon in 2019, 62.2% came from renewable sources — making the state one of only six nationwide where half of all electricity is produced from renewables. Like many states that rely heavily on renewable energy, the largest share of electricity produced in Oregon is from hydroelectric plants. The four largest power plants in the state are hydroelectric plants on the Columbia River. As is the case with other states in the region, however, hydro production has dropped in recent years due to a drought.

Meanwhile, wind production in the state has increased substantially. There are now about 1,900 wind turbines in Oregon that generated 10.6% of the state’s electricity in 2019. A decade ago, wind accounted for only 6.1% of electricity production in Oregon.

To determine renewable energy production by state, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed data on electricity generation by source in 2019 from the Energy Information Administration. States were ranked based on the electricity generated from renewable sources — which include conventional hydroelectricity, wind, wood and wood-derived fuels, other biomass, geothermal, and solar thermal and photovoltaic — as a percentage of electricity generated from all sources. Data on electricity from non-renewable sources and historical electricity data also came from the EIA. Data on the average sale price of electricity came from the EIA and is for 2019.

It is important to note that not all renewable energy sources are carbon neutral, just as not all non-renewable energy sources emit greenhouse gases. Biomass, such as waste wood and crop residue is renewable, however, when burned to produce electricity, it creates carbon. Similarly, though nuclear power plants are not classified as renewable sources, they do not produce air pollution. Still, some forms of biomass produce far less carbon emissions than fossil fuels.

 

Rank:	State:	Electricity production from renewables:	Largest renewable energy source:	Largest non-renewable energy source:
1	Vermont	99.9%	Hydroelectric	Natural gas
2	Maine	78.6%	Hydroelectric	Natural gas
3	Idaho	76.3%	Hydroelectric	Natural gas
4	South Dakota	73.8%	Hydroelectric	Coal
5	Washington	69.8%	Hydroelectric	Natural gas
6	Oregon	62.2%	Hydroelectric	Natural gas
7	California	48.2%	Hydroelectric	Natural gas
8	Montana	44.7%	Hydroelectric	Coal
9	Iowa	43.6%	Wind	Coal
10	Kansas	41.7%	Wind	Coal
11	Oklahoma	39.1%	Wind	Natural gas
12	North Dakota	35.0%	Wind	Coal
13	Alaska	29.7%	Hydroelectric	Natural gas
14	New York	28.5%	Hydroelectric	Natural gas
15	Nevada	28.4%	Solar	Natural gas
16	Colorado	24.9%	Wind	Coal
17	Minnesota	24.3%	Wind	Coal
18	New Mexico	24.2%	Wind	Coal
19	Nebraska	23.2%	Wind	Coal
20	Texas	18.8%	Wind	Natural gas
21	New Hampshire	17.2%	Hydroelectric	Nuclear
22	Massachusetts	15.6%	Solar	Natural gas
23	Tennessee	13.9%	Hydroelectric	Nuclear
24	North Carolina	12.7%	Solar	Nuclear
25	Wyoming	12.7%	Wind	Coal
26	Hawaii	12.1%	Wind	Petroleum
27	Utah	10.9%	Solar	Coal
28	Arizona	10.8%	Hydroelectric	Natural gas
29	Alabama	10.6%	Hydroelectric	Natural gas
30	Wisconsin	9.4%	Hydroelectric	Coal
31	Maryland	9.1%	Hydroelectric	Nuclear
32	Georgia	8.9%	Wood	Natural gas
33	Arkansas	8.8%	Hydroelectric	Coal
34	Michigan	8.5%	Wind	Coal
35	Illinois	8.2%	Wind	Nuclear
36	Indiana	7.1%	Wind	Coal
37	Missouri	6.8%	Wind	Coal
38	Kentucky	6.5%	Hydroelectric	Coal
39	Virginia	6.4%	Wood	Natural gas
40	Rhode Island	6.2%	Biomass	Natural gas
41	South Carolina	6.0%	Hydroelectric	Nuclear
42	West Virginia	5.2%	Hydroelectric	Coal
43	Pennsylvania	3.9%	Hydroelectric	Natural gas
44	Louisiana	3.6%	Wood	Natural gas
45	Florida	3.5%	Solar	Natural gas
46	Connecticut	3.3%	Biomass	Natural gas
47	New Jersey	2.8%	Solar	Natural gas
48	Ohio	2.7%	Wind	Natural gas
49	Mississippi	2.6%	Wood	Natural gas
50	Delaware	2.3%	Biomass	Natural gas