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
| State | Megawatt hours | State | Megawatt hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| Texas | 6,502,749 | Oklahoma | 2,459,216 |
| Washington | 6,231,765 | Iowa | 2,004,038 |
| California | 5,169,859 | Kansas | 1,509,300 |
| New York | 3,316,814 | Alabama | 1,507,158 |
| Oregon | 3,271,305 | Minnesota | 1,269,090 |
Where Texas built its lead
Texas is widely recognized as a leader in wind energy – it generated nearly 6 million megawatts of its renewable energy total from that source in November. That’s nearly 27 percent of the U.S. wind energy produced that month and 175 percent more than second-place Oklahoma.
Following are the top 10 electricity producers from wind and the megawatt hours generated:
| State | Megawatt hours | State | Megawatt hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| Texas | 5,996,535 | California | 980,975 |
| Oklahoma | 2,179,071 | Minnesota | 977,414 |
| Iowa | 1,913,395 | North Dakota | 919,000 |
| Kansas | 1,501,324 | Colorado | 755,567 |
| Illinois | 1,121,544 | Washington | 601,263 |
Solar energy and Texas
The Lone Star State also is a leader in solar energy, ranking fifth for generation of electricity from it. First place belongs to California.
Following are the top 10 electricity producers from solar and the megawatt hours generated:
| State | Megawatt hours | State | Megawatt hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| California | 1,599,708 | Florida | 176,212 |
| North Carolina | 407,192 | Utah | 126,230 |
| Arizona | 323,070 | Georgia | 119,777 |
| Nevada | 280,215 | New Mexico | 75,747 |
| Texas | 230,032 | Minnesota | 73,176 |
Biomass and Texas
Texas also ranks well in the use of biomass: It is 10th, just behind North Carolina. Biomass includes plants (other than wood) that are burned or converted to liquid biofuels and animal (including human) wastes converted to biogas.
Following are the top 10 electricity producers from biomass and the megawatt hours generated:
| State | Megawatt hours | State | Megawatt hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| California | 229,071 | Massachusetts | 89,102 |
| Florida | 215,204 | Michigan | 82,371 |
| Pennsylvania | 163,483 | New Jersey | 70,274 |
| New York | 139,575 | North Carolina | 51,871 |
| Virginia | 99,973 | Texas | 50,468 |
Other renewables and Texas
Texas doesn’t rank as highly in hydroelectric or wood and wood-derived generation or at all in geothermal. But it’s still worth taking a look at those forms of electricity production.
Texas is 19th in the use of wood and wood-derived products to generate electricity. It produced 64,765 megawatt hours during November.
Following are the top 10 electricity producers from wood and wood-derived sources and the megawatt hours generated:
| State | Megawatt hours | State | Megawatt hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| Georgia | 365,629 | Louisiana | 207,860 |
| Alabama | 282,864 | Maine | 207,611 |
| South Dakota | 252,686 | Florida | 206,474 |
| California | 242,441 | South Carolina | 180,187 |
| Virginia | 241,551 | North Carolina | 153,647 |
Texas is 24th in electricity generated by hydroelectric sources, producing 160,679 megawatts in November.
Following are the top 10 electricity producers by hydroelectric methods and the megawatt hours generated:
| State | Megawatt hours | State | Megawatt hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| Washington | 5,488,817 | Tennessee | 946,226 |
| New York | 2,723,632 | Montana | 736,325 |
| Oregon | 2,647,309 | Idaho | 720,881 |
| Alabama | 1,201,144 | North Carolina | 558,111 |
| California | 1,150,205 | Arizona | 486,815 |
Texas produces no electricity from geothermal sources. Following are the states that produce significant amounts of electricity from geothermal and the megawatt hours generated:
| State | Megawatt hours | State | Megawatt hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| California | 1,007,459 | Oregon | 16,325 |
| Nevada | 309,592 | Idaho | 6,733 |
| Utah | 40,245 | New Mexico | 1,383 |
| Hawaii | 27,803 | US total | 1,409,540 |
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)