Texas trumps all as the best state for renewable energy

Texas trumps all as the best state for renewable energy

Texas enjoys a huge lead in electricity generation by wind.

When it comes to energy generation from renewable sources, Texas is the undisputed king. The state generated more than 6.5 million megawatt hours of electricity from renewable sources, according to the latest monthly data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

Sources measured included wind, solar, hydroelectric, geothermal, wood and wood-derived materials and other biomass – the six categories designated as renewable by the EIA. A megawatt is one million watts of power.

Now that all the technical stuff is out of the way, let’s look at Texas’ standing in the renewable power world. It leads second-place Washington by nearly 270,000 megawatt hours. No other state is even close.

Top 10 Renewable States

StateMegawatt hoursStateMegawatt hours
Texas6,502,749Oklahoma2,459,216
Washington6,231,765Iowa2,004,038
California5,169,859Kansas1,509,300
New York3,316,814Alabama1,507,158
Oregon3,271,305Minnesota1,269,090

Where Texas built its lead

StateMegawatt hoursStateMegawatt hours
Texas5,996,535California980,975
Oklahoma2,179,071Minnesota977,414
Iowa1,913,395North Dakota919,000
Kansas1,501,324Colorado755,567
Illinois1,121,544Washington601,263

Solar energy and Texas

StateMegawatt hoursStateMegawatt hours
California1,599,708Florida176,212
North Carolina407,192Utah126,230
Arizona323,070Georgia119,777
Nevada280,215New Mexico75,747
Texas230,032Minnesota73,176

Biomass and Texas

StateMegawatt hoursStateMegawatt hours
California229,071Massachusetts89,102
Florida215,204Michigan82,371
Pennsylvania163,483New Jersey70,274
New York139,575North Carolina51,871
Virginia99,973Texas50,468

Other renewables and Texas

StateMegawatt hoursStateMegawatt hours
Georgia365,629Louisiana207,860
Alabama282,864Maine207,611
South Dakota252,686Florida206,474
California242,441South Carolina180,187
Virginia241,551North Carolina153,647
StateMegawatt hoursStateMegawatt hours
Washington5,488,817Tennessee946,226
New York2,723,632Montana736,325
Oregon2,647,309Idaho720,881
Alabama1,201,144North Carolina558,111
California1,150,205Arizona486,815
StateMegawatt hoursStateMegawatt hours
California1,007,459Oregon16,325
Nevada309,592Idaho6,733
Utah40,245New Mexico1,383
Hawaii27,803US total1,409,540

Fun facts about Texas renewable energy

  • Texas produces 18.6 percent of its electricity from renewable sources. That’s the 22nd largest percentage of any state. Vermont is first with 85.8 percent.
  • Texas produces 5.3 megawatt hours per capita, the 39th largest amount. Wyoming is first, with 1,112 megawatts per capita.
  • Texas could shoot up in the solar rankings and expand its overall lead in renewable power. The Phoebe solar farm, which is expected to be completed in the third quarter of this year, will be the state’s largest. It is designed to produce 250 megawatts.

(Image courtesy of Pixabay)

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