How Does Your State Make Electrical energy?

America isn’t making electrical energy the way in which it did 20 years in the past.

Fossil fuels nonetheless generate nearly all of America’s electrical energy, however the shift from coal to pure gasoline and renewable energy has helped cut 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.

Nonetheless, specialists say there’s a lengthy option to go if the nation desires to zero out emissions from the facility sector to combat local weather change, a aim set by President Biden.

Switching from coal to gasoline “will get you a part of the way in which there,” stated Melissa Lott, a researcher on the Middle on International Vitality 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, must be constructed shortly to get us all the way in which to our local weather targets,” Dr. Lott stated.

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 help 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 facility to speed up, decelerate or block clear vitality, too.

We charted how electrical energy technology has modified in each state to this point, from 2001 to 2023, utilizing knowledge from america Vitality Data Administration. Discover your state beneath:

In 2001, coal fueled greater than half of the electrical energy produced in Alabama, however lots 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.)

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 a lot of the relaxation. In 2010, Alaska set a nonbinding aim to supply 50 p.c of its electrical energy from renewable and various 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 implies “no matter electrical energy is created there may be what they’re consuming,” stated Glenn McGrath, an influence programs analyst on the U.S. Vitality Data Administration. “It’s about as remoted as you will get.”

Many rural communities in Alaska are usually not linked to the principle grid and use diesel mills for energy, though smaller, community-based wind generators have gotten extra widespread.

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 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 plentiful photo voltaic assets. Its largest utility, Arizona Public Service, set a voluntary aim of getting 65 p.c of its electrical energy from carbon-free sources by 2030 and one hundred pc by 2050. Nevertheless, the utility lobbied in opposition to proposals to codify these renewable targets into legislation.

Coal was the most important supply of electrical energy technology in Arkansas for a lot of the previous 20 years. However its position 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.)

Pure gasoline has been California’s high electrical energy gas since 2001, however greater than half of the facility 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, specifically, has grown quickly over the previous decade, largely due to supportive state insurance policies. On the similar 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 fresh energy applied sciences like photo voltaic panels and big grid batteries. In 2018, the state set a aim 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 shortly they will cut 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 facility it makes use of. (Imports are usually not mirrored within the chart above.)

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 similar time, pure gasoline and wind energy elevated their position within the state’s electrical combine. In recent times, wind generators have provided 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 Vitality, plans to part 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.)

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 facility produced within the state.

On the similar 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.

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.

Partly 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,” based on the U.S. Vitality Data Administration. Delaware will get nearly all of its electrical energy from neighboring states by the regional grid. (Imports are usually not proven on the chart above.)

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 broaden 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 increased than the nationwide common.

Regardless of its nickname, the Sunshine State has been sluggish to undertake solar energy. However utility-scale photo voltaic installations have picked up in the previous couple of 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 satisfy shopper demand. (Imports are usually not mirrored within the chart above.)

In 2024, Florida lawmakers handed a invoice that cuts help for renewable vitality tasks and makes it simpler to construct pure gasoline infrastructure. The brand new legislation prohibits development 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.

Coal offered nearly all of Georgia’s electrical energy technology by the 2000s however declined sharply through the 2010s as pure gasoline energy elevated. Fuel has been the state’s high supply of energy for a lot of the final decade, with nuclear energy usually in second place.

Georgia is the one state to convey new nuclear capability on-line in recent times: 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 many years, however the tasks have been tormented by delays and vital price overruns.

Solar energy has additionally grown shortly within the state in recent times, offering about 6 p.c of Georgia’s energy in 2023. The state can be nonetheless increasing fossil gas energy. Georgia Energy, the state’s primary 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 knowledge facilities and new clean-energy manufacturing hubs.

Hawaii has relied closely on imported oil to make electrical energy for the previous 20 years. However the state has an bold 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 aim. Final yr, there was no utility-scale coal technology in Hawaii for the primary time for the reason that early Nineteen Seventies, however delays within the deployment of latest photo voltaic and battery tasks meant oil-fired technology ticked up.

The state not too long ago opened a brand new, large-scale battery storage facility as a part of its technique to switch the coal energy that was retired. (Battery charging and discharging is just not proven within the charts above, which mirror internet 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 complete, about 31 p.c of the state’s electrical energy was made by renewable sources in 2023.

Hydro generated the overwhelming majority of Idaho’s electrical energy through the 2000s and early 2010s. However in recent times, drought situations have pushed down the quantity of hydroelectric energy produced within the state. Idaho nonetheless makes nearly all 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 similar time.

Idaho additionally imports a large quantity of energy from out of state to satisfy 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.)

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 position within the state energy combine has declined considerably in recent times 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 aim of getting 100 of its energy from carbon-free vitality sources by 2050, however the state has struggled to satisfy 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 long-distance transmission traces. (Exports are usually not proven on the chart.)

Coal fueled a lot 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 remainder from out of state. (Imports are usually not proven on the chart above.)

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, various Iowa counties have paused the development of latest wind generators and a few photo voltaic tasks, too.

In 1983, Iowa grew to become the primary state within the nation to cross 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.)

Kansas, like many states throughout the Nice Plains, has seen vital progress 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 couple of quarter to different states by the regional grid. (Exports are usually not proven on the chart above.)

Coal nonetheless generates nearly all of the electrical energy produced in Kentucky, a longtime coal mining state. However various 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 facility produced within the state final yr, down from greater than 90 p.c throughout a lot of the 2000s and early 2010s.

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 in recent times, 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.)

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.

Nevertheless, the overall 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 aim of getting one hundred pc of its electrical energy from renewable sources by 2050.

Coal produced the majority of Maryland’s energy by the early 2010s, however its position 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 fair higher share earlier than then). Nuclear energy grew to become the most important supply of electrical energy technology in 2015 and shortly rising pure gasoline energy surpassed nuclear for the primary time final yr.

Whereas solar energy continues 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 bought by utilities within the state come from renewable sources by 2030.

Maryland consumes extra energy than it generates and imports a big quantity of electrical energy from different Mid-Atlantic States by the regional grid. (Imports are usually not proven on the chart above.)

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 satisfy peak electrical energy demand through the winter, now offers solely a small fraction of the facility it did 20 years in the past. The state’s solely nuclear plant, which was answerable 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 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 present in absolute phrases than it did 20 years in the past and now imports about half of its energy from different Northeastern states by 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 undertaking 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.

Coal was the highest supply of electrical energy produced in Michigan for a lot of the final 20 years, however coal-fired technology declined steadily through the 2010s and 2020s as pure gasoline energy expanded. After years of progress, gasoline grew to become 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 an extra 7 p.c, and photo voltaic delivered lower than 2 p.c. Michigan not too long ago set a aim 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, it might be the primary shuttered nuclear plant to reopen in america.

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 beneath nuclear for the primary time. Wind energy, in the meantime, grew from 2 p.c of the state’s complete technology in 2001 to 25 p.c in 2023. Wind grew to become 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 facility 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 the shared regional grid. (Imports are usually not proven on the chart above.)

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.)

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. Fuel- and wind-powered technology have made positive factors 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 regional grids. (Electrical energy imports are usually not proven on the charts above.)

Coal has been the highest supply of electrical energy produced in Montana for a lot 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 situations.

Montanans solely use about two-thirds of the electrical energy produced within the state. A lot of the remainder is shipped to Washington and Oregon by way of interstate transmission traces. New transmission tasks are in growth that would broaden how a lot Montana-generated electrical energy strikes to different states (and the opposite means round, when wanted).

Coal has been the highest supply of electrical energy produced in Nebraska for greater than 20 years, however its technology share has declined in recent times 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 wonderful wind assets, based on the U.S. Vitality 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 not too long ago 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 remainder to different states by long-distance transmission traces. (Exports are usually not proven on the chart above.)

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 not too long ago, 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 facility produced within the state got here from renewable vitality. Massive-scale photo voltaic arrays and rooftop panels offered 26 p.c. Geothermal crops, which harvest warmth from deep beneath the Earth’s floor, provided an extra 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 progress of solar energy in recent times has prompted the state to strengthen its targets for renewable vitality. Nevada legislation now requires that fifty p.c of the electrical energy bought by utilities within the state come from renewable sources by 2030.

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 for the reason that early 2000s, when two new producing stations went on-line. The share of electrical energy provided 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 presently 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 facility 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.)

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 nearly 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 accredited new subsidies to maintain the state’s remaining three nuclear crops worthwhile. The governor, Philip D. Murphy, stated the crops offered essential, emissions-free energy that might not contribute to local weather change and pointed to “the hundreds of jobs they help.”

New Jersey has a renewable vitality customary that requires 35 p.c of the electrical energy bought within the state to return from renewable sources by 2025, with that requirement rising to 50 p.c by 2030. To assist attain these targets, the state desires to construct wind farms off its coast, the place there may be 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 the regional grid. (Imports are usually not included on the chart above.)

Coal was New Mexico’s main supply of electrical energy technology for a lot of the final 20 years. However coal-fired energy has declined for the reason that 2000s in response to more durable air high quality rules, 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 finest wind, photo voltaic and geothermal vitality assets within the nation, based on the U.S. Vitality 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 big quantity of electrical energy to Arizona and California, but it surely might quickly grow to be a fair greater energy provider. Final yr, officers broke floor on a serious new transmission undertaking that may ship renewable wind energy from central New Mexico to more-populated components of the West. (Exports are usually not proven on the chart above.)

Pure gasoline and nuclear vitality have fueled nearly all of New York’s electrical energy for the previous 20 years. However gasoline has expanded its position within the state’s energy combine throughout that point, whereas nuclear technology declined in recent times. 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 facility 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 bold local weather legislation requires utilities to get 70 p.c of the electrical energy they promote from renewable sources by 2030 and to shift fully to carbon-free energy a decade later.

New York tends to devour extra electrical energy than it produces and presently imports energy from neighboring states and Canada. (Electrical energy imports are usually not included on the chart above.)

Coal-fired energy crops offered nearly all of North Carolina’s electrical energy technology through 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 progress of solar energy has slowed in recent times.

In 2021, a bipartisan invoice handed by state lawmakers required North Carolina’s largest utility, Duke Vitality, to realize a 70 p.c discount in carbon dioxide emissions from 2005 ranges by the tip of the last decade. However this yr, Duke Vitality requested for extra time to satisfy that deadline and for permission to construct a fleet of latest gas-burning energy crops.

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 plentiful 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 high-voltage transmission traces. (Exports are usually not included on the chart above.)

Coal was Ohio’s primary 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. Fuel 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 an extra 12 p.c of its electrical energy from two nuclear crops alongside Lake Erie, which have additionally confronted stiff price 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 present: 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.

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 shortly within the meantime, briefly turning into the state’s largest energy producer in 2022 earlier than dropping beneath 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 further energy to different states over the regional grid. (Exports are usually not included on the chart above.)

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.)

Coal was Pennsylvania’s high supply of electrical energy till 2014, however its position within the state’s energy combine has declined sharply since then as pure gasoline has surged.

Fuel manufacturing from hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, unleashed a flood of low cost pure gasoline in Pennsylvania beginning within the 2000s. Because of this, electrical utilities started closing down older coal crops in favor of newer gas-powered generators.

Fuel is now placing strain 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 provided 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.)

Pure gasoline dominates electrical energy technology in Rhode Island, however photo voltaic vitality has grown shortly in recent times. Photo voltaic provided 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 customary in 2022 and now requires state electrical energy suppliers to get one hundred pc of the facility they promote to customers from renewable sources by 2033. The state consumes extra electrical energy than it generates and imports further energy by New England’s regional grid. (Imports are usually not included on the chart above.)

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. Fuel 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 price 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.)

Hydroelectric dams provided 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 not too long ago, wind energy has taken over.

Coal’s share of the state technology combine has declined considerably for the reason that 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 present 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.)

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 many years of delays. In 2017, coal-powered technology dipped beneath nuclear for the primary time in practically 20 years. Extra not too long ago, 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.)

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 present, 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. Nevertheless, the state has cleared lots of the limitations to constructing new renewable tasks and different vitality infrastructure, creating “an atmosphere the place this stuff can thrive,” Dr. Lott of Columbia College stated.

However whilst 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 linked to the nation’s different regional grids. Which means Texas is essentially dependent by itself assets to satisfy its electrical energy wants.

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 most important renewable supply of energy within the state, offering 14 p.c of Utah’s electrical energy technology final yr. Utah has a aim 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.)

No less than one Utah energy plant is switching from burning coal to pure gasoline to adjust to California’s stricter environmental rules. However Utah lawmakers are methods to maintain the coal energy plant operating alongside the brand new gasoline facility.

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, nearly 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 complete, 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 not too long ago strengthened its renewable vitality customary to require that one hundred pc of electrical energy bought within the state come from renewable sources by 2035.

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 a bit of 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 greatest 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 help for pure gasoline energy.

The whole quantity of energy produced in Virginia has been rising, however the state can be going through rising demand from power-hungry knowledge facilities. Dominion Vitality, 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 general emissions.

Virginia presently consumes extra electrical energy than it generates and will get extra energy from two regional grids that serve the state. (Imports are usually not included on the chart above.)

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 adjustments in precipitation, and different sources — together with pure gasoline, nuclear, wind and coal — make up nearly 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 absolutely away from fossil fuels as an influence supply by 2045.

Coal nonetheless dominates West Virginia’s energy combine. It has provided 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 grew to become the primary state to repeal its renewable vitality customary after years of lobbying by conservative teams. The legislation required utilities to get 25 p.c of their electrical energy from various and renewable vitality sources by 2025. Opponents of the usual stated it was hurting coal jobs and elevating electrical energy charges, whereas supporters stated it might assist to diversify the state’s electrical sector at a time when the nationwide coal market was in decline.

The whole 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 big quantity of energy to different Mid-Atlantic States by the shared regional grid. (Exports are usually not pictured within the chart above.)

Coal was lengthy Wisconsin’s high supply of electrical energy technology, however, after years of fast progress, pure gasoline took over because the state’s largest energy producer in 2022. Wind and solar energy have grown shortly within the state in recent times, however each sources stay comparatively small gamers in Wisconsin’s electrical energy combine.

In 2019, Gov. Tony Evers, a Democrat, set a aim 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 extra energy from the regional electrical grid. (Imports are usually not proven on the chart above.)

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 provided 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 be house to “a number of the biggest wind assets within the nation,” based on the U.S. Vitality 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 presently in growth to maneuver extra of Wyoming’s plentiful wind energy to different Western states. (Exports are usually not pictured within the chart above.)