U.S. Renewable Power Usage in One Map

By Scott Martin
on June 14, 2012 12:06 pm

The Washington Post recently posted a ten year comparison (2001-2011) map from the United States Energy Information Administration (EIA) representing how much electricity each state gets from renewable sources (wind, solar, biomass, and geothermal – does not include hydropower).  It is interesting to be able to visualize the shift that has occurred over the last decade.

The article notes that if the map included hydropower, it could make more states in the Pacific Northwest look even better since states like Idaho, Washington and Oregon get an overwhelming majority of their electricity from hydroelectric dams. The U.S. EIA has released a more recent report on total renewable generation, not including hydropower, here (Excel file). The top states in 2012 based on this metric were:

1. Texas
2. California
3. Iowa
4. Minnesota
5. Washington
6. Illinois