Renewable electricity by state
In 2025, renewable sources produced 99.8% of the electricity generated in Vermont, 79.6% in South Dakota and 73.2% in Washington, against 24.1%1 for the United States. The leaders got there by different routes, river dams in the Northwest, wind on the Plains, sun in the Southwest, and the ranking measures power plants inside each state, which is not the same as the electricity its homes use.
Source: EIA, Net generation by state by type of producer by energy source; Census Bureau, Cartographic boundary file, states. Darker states are higher; DC is the dot. Hydro, wind, solar, geothermal and biomass, share of net generation. Period: 2025.
Show the numbers
| State | Renewable share |
|---|---|
| Vermont | 99.8% |
| South Dakota | 79.6% |
| Washington | 73.2% |
| Idaho | 68.4% |
| Oregon | 64.5% |
| Iowa | 62.0% |
| Maine | 57.7% |
| Montana | 56.3% |
| California | 55.3% |
| New Mexico | 52.8% |
| Kansas | 47.9% |
| Oklahoma | 45.4% |
| Nevada | 44.2% |
| District of Columbia | 43.2% |
| Colorado | 43.0% |
| North Dakota | 40.6% |
| Minnesota | 33.6% |
| Nebraska | 33.1% |
| Texas | 33.0% |
| Wyoming | 30.8% |
| New York | 28.8% |
| Alaska | 25.7% |
| Utah | 22.2% |
| Hawaii | 21.7% |
| Arizona | 20.3% |
| Massachusetts | 17.6% |
| Illinois | 16.8% |
| Indiana | 16.2% |
| Arkansas | 14.1% |
| Tennessee | 14.0% |
| North Carolina | 13.8% |
| Wisconsin | 13.6% |
| Missouri | 13.0% |
| Georgia | 12.9% |
| Michigan | 12.6% |
| New Hampshire | 12.6% |
| Virginia | 12.5% |
| Rhode Island | 11.1% |
| Florida | 10.6% |
| Maryland | 10.2% |
| Alabama | 9.1% |
| Kentucky | 8.8% |
| Ohio | 8.0% |
| West Virginia | 6.8% |
| South Carolina | 6.3% |
| Mississippi | 6.0% |
| Louisiana | 5.1% |
| Delaware | 4.2% |
| Pennsylvania | 3.9% |
| Connecticut | 3.6% |
| New Jersey | 3.6% |
The percentage, state by state
| 1 | Vermont | 99.8% | 18.9% | 10.3% | 49.7% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | South Dakota | 79.6% | 58.2% | 2.1% | 19.2% |
| 3 | Washington | 73.2% | 7.9% | 0.6% | 63.6% |
| 4 | Idaho | 68.4% | 13.9% | 8.0% | 43.6% |
| 5 | Oregon | 64.5% | 13.9% | 4.2% | 44.7% |
| 6 | Iowa | 62.0% | 58.5% | 1.7% | 1.5% |
| 7 | Maine | 57.7% | 19.6% | 10.0% | 17.2% |
| 8 | Montana | 56.3% | 23.3% | 1.3% | 31.6% |
| 9 | California | 55.3% | 7.4% | 26.8% | 13.7% |
| 10 | New Mexico | 52.8% | 36.5% | 15.9% | 0.3% |
| 11 | Kansas | 47.9% | 47.1% | 0.7% | 0.0% |
| 12 | Oklahoma | 45.4% | 41.5% | 0.8% | 2.7% |
| 13 | Nevada | 44.2% | 0.8% | 30.8% | 4.2% |
| 14 | District of Columbia | 43.2% | 0.0% | 18.4% | 0.0% |
| 15 | Colorado | 43.0% | 30.0% | 9.9% | 3.0% |
| 16 | North Dakota | 40.6% | 35.9% | 0.0% | 4.7% |
| 17 | Minnesota | 33.6% | 25.5% | 5.0% | 1.3% |
| 18 | Nebraska | 33.1% | 29.3% | 0.7% | 2.9% |
| 19 | Texas | 33.0% | 21.7% | 11.0% | 0.1% |
| 20 | Wyoming | 30.8% | 27.9% | 1.1% | 1.8% |
| 21 | New York | 28.8% | 5.4% | 3.3% | 19.0% |
| 22 | Alaska | 25.7% | 1.6% | 0.1% | 23.5% |
| 23 | Utah | 22.2% | 2.1% | 17.4% | 1.4% |
| 24 | Hawaii | 21.7% | 6.2% | 10.2% | 0.8% |
| 25 | Arizona | 20.3% | 2.7% | 13.3% | 4.1% |
| 26 | Massachusetts | 17.6% | 0.9% | 9.4% | 3.4% |
| 27 | Illinois | 16.8% | 13.1% | 3.5% | 0.1% |
| 28 | Indiana | 16.2% | 9.5% | 6.2% | 0.3% |
| 29 | Arkansas | 14.1% | 0.3% | 6.9% | 5.7% |
| 30 | Tennessee | 14.0% | 0.0% | 1.7% | 11.7% |
| 31 | North Carolina | 13.8% | 0.7% | 8.9% | 3.1% |
| 32 | Wisconsin | 13.6% | 3.0% | 6.0% | 2.9% |
| 33 | Missouri | 13.0% | 9.1% | 2.2% | 1.6% |
| 34 | Georgia | 12.9% | 0.0% | 7.7% | 1.9% |
| =35 | Michigan | 12.6% | 7.9% | 2.2% | 1.0% |
| =35 | New Hampshire | 12.6% | 2.5% | 0.0% | 5.7% |
| 37 | Virginia | 12.5% | 0.0% | 8.3% | 1.0% |
| 38 | Rhode Island | 11.1% | 2.0% | 7.1% | 0.1% |
| 39 | Florida | 10.6% | 0.0% | 9.3% | 0.1% |
| 40 | Maryland | 10.2% | 1.8% | 3.4% | 4.2% |
| 41 | Alabama | 9.1% | 0.0% | 0.9% | 6.0% |
| 42 | Kentucky | 8.8% | 0.0% | 2.2% | 6.0% |
| 43 | Ohio | 8.0% | 2.0% | 5.5% | 0.3% |
| 44 | West Virginia | 6.8% | 3.7% | 0.4% | 2.7% |
| 45 | South Carolina | 6.3% | 0.0% | 3.1% | 1.7% |
| 46 | Mississippi | 6.0% | 0.6% | 3.7% | 0.0% |
| 47 | Louisiana | 5.1% | 0.0% | 2.3% | 1.0% |
| 48 | Delaware | 4.2% | 0.1% | 3.1% | 0.0% |
| 49 | Pennsylvania | 3.9% | 1.6% | 0.7% | 1.0% |
| =50 | Connecticut | 3.6% | 0.0% | 1.5% | 0.7% |
| =50 | New Jersey | 3.6% | 0.0% | 2.6% | 0.0% |
| United States | 24.1% | 10.4% | 6.8% | 5.5% |
Source: EIA, Net generation by state by type of producer by energy source. Rank 1 is the highest value. Hydro, wind, solar, geothermal and biomass, share of net generation. Period: 2025.
Vermont generated 99.8% of its electricity from renewable sources in 2025, the highest share of the 50 states and DC; New Jersey and Connecticut had the lowest, 3.6% and 3.6%. The national share was 24.1% and the median state 17.6%. The two differ because the US share counts every kilowatt-hour, so large generators with sizeable renewable shares, such as Texas (33.0% of 601.0 terawatt-hours) and California (55.3% of 205.1 terawatt-hours1), weigh more than small states.
The full table below ranks every state by its 2025 renewable share and shows the wind, solar and hydropower shares beside it. Those three columns do not always add up to the total: the difference is geothermal and biomass (wood, landfill gas and other organic fuels), which EIA counts as renewable and which matter in a few states.
What is counted
The figures come from EIA's annual generation data by state (form EIA-923, 2025): net generation of the power plants located in the state, utility-owned or independent, by energy source. "Renewable" here means conventional hydropower, wind, solar, geothermal and biomass. Nuclear is not included, and neither is pumped-storage hydro, which uses more electricity than it returns. The share is renewable generation divided by all generation in the state that year. One calendar year is the right unit: wind, sun and river flows all change with the season, and a single month would mostly measure the weather.
Dams, wind or sun: how the top ten got there
The ten states with the highest renewable share were Vermont, South Dakota, Washington, Idaho, Oregon, Iowa, Maine, Montana, California and New Mexico, from 99.8% down to 52.8%1 in 2025. They split into three groups by their main source.
- Hydropower. The hydro share in Washington, 63.6%, was the highest of any state, with Oregon at 44.7% and Idaho at 43.6%. Montana combined dams (31.6%) with wind (23.3%). Vermont's largest source was also hydropower, 49.7%.
- Wind. In Iowa wind produced 58.5% of all electricity (the highest share) and in South Dakota 58.2% (2nd highest); South Dakota added 19.2% from hydropower. New Mexico paired wind (36.5%) with solar (15.9%).
- Solar. In California solar was the largest renewable source in 2025: 26.8% of generation, against 13.7% from hydropower. Nevada had a solar share of 30.8%, the highest of any state, but its renewable total of 44.2% ranked 13th highest1.
Maine fits none of the three: its renewable share of 57.7% was spread across wind (19.6%), hydropower (17.2%), solar (10.0%) and biomass, while natural gas remained its largest single source at 39.1%1.
Source: EIA, Net generation by state by type of producer by energy source. Wind share of net generation by all power plants in the state (EIA-923), 2025.
Show the numbers
| Area | Wind share |
|---|---|
| Iowa | 58.5% |
| South Dakota | 58.2% |
| Kansas | 47.1% |
| Oklahoma | 41.5% |
| New Mexico | 36.5% |
| North Dakota | 35.9% |
| Texas | 21.7% |
| United States | 10.4% |
| California | 7.4% |
The bottom ten: nuclear, gas and coal
At the other end, renewable plants produced the smallest shares of electricity, from 3.6% to 8.8%, in New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, West Virginia, Ohio and Kentucky1 in 2025. What replaced renewables differs:
- Nuclear. Nuclear plants supplied 54.5% of South Carolina's generation, 45.8% of New Jersey's, 38.2% of Connecticut's and 30.5% of Pennsylvania's. A ranking that grouped nuclear with renewables as low-carbon sources would place these states much higher; this one, following EIA's energy-source categories, does not.
- Natural gas. Gas produced 86.1% of Delaware's electricity, 73.6% of Mississippi's and 72.2% of Louisiana's, and was also the largest source in Pennsylvania (58.2%) and Ohio (54.2%).
- Coal. West Virginia generated 86.7% of its electricity from coal (the highest share), and Kentucky 65.4%1.
Source: EIA, Net generation by state by type of producer by energy source. Nuclear share of net generation by all power plants in the state (EIA-923), 2025.
Show the numbers
| Area | Nuclear share |
|---|---|
| South Carolina | 54.5% |
| New Jersey | 45.8% |
| Connecticut | 38.2% |
| Pennsylvania | 30.5% |
| United States | 17.7% |
| Mississippi | 15.1% |
| Louisiana | 14.9% |
Generation is not consumption
Electricity crosses state lines, so a state's generation mix is not the mix its customers use. EIA's data show how far the two can drift apart: Vermont's power plants generated only 37% as much electricity as Vermont's customers bought in 2025, the 2nd lowest ratio among the states. The 99.8% renewable share describes that smaller in-state output; the rest of what Vermont uses comes from outside the state over the regional grid, with whatever mix those plants produced. The District of Columbia is the extreme case: its plants generated 0.2 terawatt-hours in 2025, 2% of its retail sales, so its 43.2%1 renewable share describes a very small amount of electricity.
The reverse holds for net exporters. South Dakota generated 158% of its own retail sales, Iowa 126% and New Mexico 125%, so their plants, and the renewable share measured on them, partly serve customers in other states. Wyoming, whose ratio of 263% was the highest, produced 30.8%1 of its generation from renewables.
Source: EIA, Net generation by state by type of producer by energy source. Each dot is a state (horizontal: Generation vs sales; vertical: Renewable share). In-state net generation divided by retail electricity sales, 2025 (above 100%: the state generates more than its customers buy; ignores line losses and own use). Hydro, wind, solar, geothermal and biomass, share of net generation. Period: 2025.
Show the numbers
| State | Generation vs sales | Renewable share |
|---|---|---|
| District of Columbia | 2% | 43.2% |
| Vermont | 37% | 99.8% |
| Massachusetts | 44% | 17.6% |
| Delaware | 47% | 4.2% |
| Maryland | 63% | 10.2% |
| Tennessee | 71% | 14.0% |
| Virginia | 72% | 12.5% |
| Idaho | 76% | 68.4% |
| New Jersey | 82% | 3.6% |
| California | 84% | 55.3% |
| Missouri | 89% | 13.0% |
| Ohio | 90% | 8.0% |
| Minnesota | 90% | 33.6% |
| New York | 91% | 28.8% |
| Wisconsin | 95% | 13.6% |
| Georgia | 95% | 12.9% |
| North Carolina | 96% | 13.8% |
| Kentucky | 98% | 8.8% |
| Colorado | 100% | 43.0% |
| Hawaii | 102% | 21.7% |
| Indiana | 103% | 16.2% |
| Florida | 104% | 10.6% |
| Oregon | 104% | 64.5% |
| Louisiana | 105% | 5.1% |
| Nebraska | 106% | 33.1% |
| Utah | 108% | 22.2% |
| Texas | 113% | 33.0% |
| Washington | 113% | 73.2% |
| Nevada | 113% | 44.2% |
| Oklahoma | 121% | 45.4% |
| South Carolina | 122% | 6.3% |
| Alaska | 125% | 25.7% |
| New Mexico | 125% | 52.8% |
| Iowa | 126% | 62.0% |
| Arizona | 127% | 20.3% |
| Michigan | 128% | 12.6% |
| Arkansas | 130% | 14.1% |
| Rhode Island | 132% | 11.1% |
| Maine | 132% | 57.7% |
| Illinois | 141% | 16.8% |
| North Dakota | 142% | 40.6% |
| Kansas | 149% | 47.9% |
| South Dakota | 158% | 79.6% |
| Connecticut | 158% | 3.6% |
| Mississippi | 159% | 6.0% |
| West Virginia | 159% | 6.8% |
| Alabama | 161% | 9.1% |
| Pennsylvania | 171% | 3.9% |
| New Hampshire | 172% | 12.6% |
| Montana | 174% | 56.3% |
| Wyoming | 263% | 30.8% |
A utility's or customer's purchases of renewable energy certificates or green-power contracts are not reflected here either: the ranking follows physical generation by location, not who paid for it.
The change since 2015
The US renewable share rose 10.7 percentage points between 2015 and 2025, driven by wind and solar: the wind share rose 5.7 percentage points and the solar share 6.2 percentage points, while hydropower's share slipped 0.6 percentage points1.
New Mexico shows the shift most clearly: its renewable share rose 44.1 percentage points. Its wind share rose 30.1 percentage points and its solar share 14.0 percentage points, while coal fell from 62.5% of generation in 2015 to 20.7%. Other large gains came in Iowa (+28.3 percentage points), California (+25.3 percentage points), Nevada (+25.3 percentage points), Colorado (+24.9 percentage points) and Kansas (+23.6 percentage points). Texas, which gained +22.4 percentage points, ranked only 19th highest by share in 2025, but with 601.0 terawatt-hours of generation, its wind (21.7%) and solar (11.0%1) output was large in absolute terms.
Source: EIA, Net generation by state by type of producer by energy source. Period: 2015 to 2025.
Show the numbers
| State | Renewable share of generation, change 2015 to 2025 |
|---|---|
| New Mexico | +44.1 pts |
| Iowa | +28.3 pts |
| California | +25.3 pts |
| Nevada | +25.3 pts |
| Colorado | +24.9 pts |
| Kansas | +23.6 pts |
| Oklahoma | +23.1 pts |
| Texas | +22.4 pts |
| Wyoming | +21.3 pts |
| Nebraska | +20.7 pts |
| Utah | +17.6 pts |
| North Dakota | +17.5 pts |
| United States | +10.7 pts |
A few states with high shares recorded a lower renewable share in 2025 than in 2015, among them Maine (−8.8 percentage points), Idaho (−6.3 percentage points), Oregon (−3.2 percentage points) and Washington (−2.3 percentage points). In Idaho the hydro share was 55.9% in 2015 and 43.6%1 in 2025. Hydropower output follows each year's water supply, so comparing two single years in dam-heavy states partly compares two different water years.
Renewable share and what homes pay
A high renewable share does not predict a low or a high price. Over the 12 months from September 2025 to August 2026, homes in Idaho paid an average of 12.77¢ per kWh, the 3rd lowest among the states, and homes in Washington 14.20¢ per kWh; in California, with a renewable share of 55.3%1, they paid 32.34¢ per kWh, the 2nd highest, and in Maine 29.60¢ per kWh. The least renewable states are just as mixed: Louisiana 13.02¢ per kWh, the 4th lowest, Connecticut 27.42¢ per kWh, the 7th highest. The US average was 18.04¢ per kWh3.
Source: EIA, Net generation by state by type of producer by energy source; EIA, Electric Power Monthly / EIA-861M sales and revenue by state. Each dot is a state (horizontal: Renewable share; vertical: Residential ¢/kWh, 12 months). Hydro, wind, solar, geothermal and biomass, share of net generation. Period: 2025. Residential revenue divided by kilowatt-hours sold over the 12 months 2025-09 to 2026-08 (EIA-861M; months since January 2026 preliminary). Average revenue per kWh, all charges included; not a tariff. Period: September 2025 to August 2026.
Show the numbers
| State | Renewable share | Residential ¢/kWh, 12 months |
|---|---|---|
| Connecticut | 3.6% | 27.42¢ |
| New Jersey | 3.6% | 23.74¢ |
| Pennsylvania | 3.9% | 20.86¢ |
| Delaware | 4.2% | 17.98¢ |
| Louisiana | 5.1% | 13.02¢ |
| Mississippi | 6.0% | 14.85¢ |
| South Carolina | 6.3% | 15.77¢ |
| West Virginia | 6.8% | 15.53¢ |
| Ohio | 8.0% | 18.41¢ |
| Kentucky | 8.8% | 13.94¢ |
| Alabama | 9.1% | 16.44¢ |
| Maryland | 10.2% | 21.18¢ |
| Florida | 10.6% | 15.41¢ |
| Rhode Island | 11.1% | 29.44¢ |
| Virginia | 12.5% | 16.64¢ |
| Michigan | 12.6% | 21.28¢ |
| New Hampshire | 12.6% | 26.95¢ |
| Georgia | 12.9% | 15.17¢ |
| Missouri | 13.0% | 13.97¢ |
| Wisconsin | 13.6% | 18.79¢ |
| North Carolina | 13.8% | 14.79¢ |
| Tennessee | 14.0% | 13.61¢ |
| Arkansas | 14.1% | 13.57¢ |
| Indiana | 16.2% | 16.90¢ |
| Illinois | 16.8% | 18.91¢ |
| Massachusetts | 17.6% | 30.39¢ |
| Arizona | 20.3% | 15.39¢ |
| Hawaii | 21.7% | 44.27¢ |
| Utah | 22.2% | 13.26¢ |
| Alaska | 25.7% | 26.94¢ |
| New York | 28.8% | 28.60¢ |
| Wyoming | 30.8% | 14.01¢ |
| Texas | 33.0% | 15.98¢ |
| Nebraska | 33.1% | 12.74¢ |
| Minnesota | 33.6% | 16.28¢ |
| North Dakota | 40.6% | 12.35¢ |
| Colorado | 43.0% | 16.61¢ |
| District of Columbia | 43.2% | 24.48¢ |
| Nevada | 44.2% | 13.45¢ |
| Oklahoma | 45.4% | 13.81¢ |
| Kansas | 47.9% | 15.13¢ |
| New Mexico | 52.8% | 15.31¢ |
| California | 55.3% | 32.34¢ |
| Montana | 56.3% | 13.94¢ |
| Maine | 57.7% | 29.60¢ |
| Iowa | 62.0% | 14.20¢ |
| Oregon | 64.5% | 15.53¢ |
| Idaho | 68.4% | 12.77¢ |
| Washington | 73.2% | 14.20¢ |
| South Dakota | 79.6% | 14.28¢ |
| Vermont | 99.8% | 23.90¢ |
The average price is total residential revenue divided by kWh sold, so it carries delivery costs, fixed charges and riders alongside generation costs; the fuel mix is one input among many. Two periods are compared in the chart: generation for calendar 2025, prices for the 12 months from September 2025 to August 2026. For prices alone, see electricity rates by state ranked.
Limits of this ranking
- It is not a consumption or customer-supply figure. It describes plants located in the state; the electricity a given home uses depends on its utility's own plants and purchases, which this data does not show.
- It is annual and backward-looking. These are 2025 figures, EIA's latest full year. Plants that came online during or after 2025 are only partly counted or not at all.
- Small states move a lot. Where total generation is small, as in DC (0.2 terawatt-hours) or Vermont (2.0 terawatt-hours1), one plant can shift the share by many points.
Renewable electricity by state: questions
What percentage of US electricity comes from renewable energy?
24.1% of all electricity generated in the United States in 2025 came from hydro, wind, solar, geothermal and biomass plants, according to EIA. That is 10.7 percentage points more than in 2015. Wind was the largest renewable source (10.4%), ahead of solar (6.8%) and hydropower (5.5%1).
Which state uses the most renewable energy?
By share of generation, Vermont: 99.8% of the electricity made in the state in 2025 was renewable. But Vermont's plants generated only 37%1 as much electricity as its customers bought that year, so most of the power used there arrives over the regional grid, and that power's mix is not counted in Vermont's share.
Which state has the least renewable electricity?
New Jersey and Connecticut, at 3.6% and 3.6% of generation in 2025, followed by Pennsylvania (3.9%1). Nuclear plants produced a large part of the electricity in all three, and nuclear is not counted as renewable.
Do states with more renewable electricity have cheaper electricity?
Not as a rule. Idaho (68.4% renewable in 2025) had the 3rd lowest residential average price over the 12 months from September 2025 to August 2026, 12.77¢ per kWh, while California (55.3%1) had the 2nd highest, 32.34¢ per kWh. Among the least renewable states, Louisiana paid 13.02¢ per kWh and Connecticut 27.42¢ per kWh3.
Other rankings
- Cheapest electricity by state
- Average electric bill by state
- Average electricity usage by state
- Electricity price increases by state
- Commercial electricity rates by state
- Industrial electricity rates by state
- Cheapest and most expensive electric utilities
- Power outages by state
- Rooftop solar on net metering by state
Sources
- EIA, Net generation by state by type of producer by energy source; table annual_generation_state.xlsx; 1990-2025; released September 14, 2026. www.eia.gov
- Census Bureau, Cartographic boundary file, states; table cb_2025_us_state_20m; 2025. www.census.gov
- EIA, Electric Power Monthly / EIA-861M sales and revenue by state; table sales_revenue.xlsx (EPM Table 5.6.A); January 2001 to 2026-08; months since January 2026 preliminary; released October 23, 2026. www.eia.gov
How every figure is built: methodology. Found an error? Write to [email protected]; corrections are listed on the updates page.