Last year, America generated enough electricity from wind and solar to power more than 70 million homes. That’s more than triple the amount produced a decade ago, according to Climate Central, a policy-neutral nonprofit.
In New Mexico, 50% of the state’s electricity now comes from wind and solar, which ranks fourth in the country. Sixth-ranked Colorado isn’t far behind at 40%.
Nevada gets nearly one-third (32%) of its energy from wind and solar. Those renewable sources make up around one-quarter of the power in Wyoming (24%), Idaho (23%), and Montana (22%), and account for under one-fifth in Utah (19%) and Arizona (15%).
“There's a lot of appeal of these resources that we can capture very easily,” said Jen Brady, a senior data analyst at Climate Central. “There are people looking to it to help with problems with the grid, with storms.”
Brady said power outages caused by extreme storms are only going to increase due to climate change. That’s why, she added, producing more renewable energy is crucial as America’s demand for electricity surges.
All told, the nation’s electricity demand could swell by up to 50% by 2040, according to a new study by S&P Global Commodity Insights. That growth is projected to be driven by tech companies building more data centers and Americans driving more electric vehicles.
“It's good for the world,” Brady emphasized. “It's good for the planet to be using wind and solar energy and other renewable sources because they aren't derived from fossil fuels, and so they aren't contributing to climate change.”
But the Trump administration is working to expand the production of fossil fuels. It issued orders to halt renewable energy development on public lands, and open more of them up for oil and gas drilling.
This story was produced by the Mountain West News Bureau, a collaboration between Wyoming Public Media, Nevada Public Radio, Boise State Public Radio in Idaho, KUNR in Nevada, KUNC in Colorado and KANW in New Mexico, with support from affiliate stations across the region. Funding for the Mountain West News Bureau is provided in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
