As renewable capacity additions in the United States soar, two states already have solar and wind accounting for more than half of their utility generation capacity.
These aren't the biggest states by absolute capacity additions, i.e., California and Texas. Wind and solar installations are surging in these two states, but they aren't the ones with the biggest shares of renewables in their generation capacity.
The top U.S. states with more than 50% of their generation capacity coming from wind and solar are Iowa and New Mexico, per data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) and energy data platform Cleanview cited by Reuters columnist Gavin Maguire.
In Iowa, the second largest wind power producer after Texas, wind and solar capacity combined accounts for 55.43% of the state's utility generation capacity, of which 54.1% is from wind and 1.3% from solar.
New Mexico, for its part, has 50.78% of its utility capacity coming from wind and solar power, wind accounting for 37.1% and solar making up 13.7% of utility generation capacity.
Renewable energy is the largest source of New Mexico's total in-state electricity generation. In 2023, wind power alone accounted for 38% of total in-state generation, according to EIA data. In less than a decade, renewable resources have seen their share jump as the amount of total electricity generation from renewable resources was more than six times greater in 2023 than in 2015.
New Mexico is among the top five states in terms of wind energy potential. Last year, wind energy contributed 81% of New Mexico's renewable generation and provided the largest share of the state's total in-state generation at 38%.
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In terms of capacity numbers, New Mexico ranked ninth in the nation at the end of 2023 in wind power capacity, with about 4,400 megawatts (MW) installed. Another 1,800 MW of solar power capacity and related battery energy storage are scheduled to come online in the state this year.
In Iowa, nearly two-thirds of total electricity net generation came from renewable resources in 2022, almost all of it from wind, per EIA data. The state was the second-largest wind power producer after Texas. Wind energy powered 62% of Iowa's net generation, the highest share of any U.S. state.
As Iowa's wind power capacity expanded, the share of coal in the state's electricity generation has slumped to 25% of total electricity net generation in 2022, compared to 44% five years earlier.
While wind and solar capacity is soaring, natural gas continues to underpin the power systems across the United States, while the share of coal in America's electricity mix is still above 15%, more than any renewable energy source.
All renewable energy sources combined-wind, solar, hydropower, biomass, and geothermal-surpassed coal-fired generation in the U.S. electric power sector for the first time in 2022. But coal still holds about 16% share of electricity generation, more than wind's share of around 11%, hydropower's 6%, or solar power's 4% share of the electric generation mix.
Currently, fossil fuels provide 60% of the total U.S. electricity generation. Last year, gas accounted for 43% and coal for more than 16%.
Coal and natural gas provide reliable energy when the variable wind power generation is faltering.
Natural gas-fired power generation has soared in recent weeks amid high electricity demand in exceptionally high temperatures across the country and a significant decrease in wind generation. Early this week, natural gas-fired power generation jumped amid the lowest wind power output in 33 months. The hot summer with low wind speeds has led to low wind power generation, which has prompted power producers to boost natural gas-powered generation to keep up with the summer electricity demand.
This year, natural gas is expected to provide around 42% of America's electricity, similar to last year, as total consumption is set to grow by 3% in 2024 and another 2% in 2025, per data from the EIA.
By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com
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Tsvetana is a writer for Oilprice.com with over a decade of experience writing for news outlets such as iNVEZZ and SeeNews. More
Comments
South Dakota would rank in the top 5.