Report: Rhode Island Ranks 5th Among States with Biggest Increase in Renewable Energy Production

Among states with the largest 10-year increase in renewable energy production, Rhode Island ranks fifth, according to a new report.

Researchers ranked U.S. states according to the percentage change in renewable energy production between 2010 and 2019. In the report, researchers included the renewable energy share of total production in both 2010 and 2019, as well as the largest renewable energy source in each state.

In all, electric power generated from renewables in the U.S. has grown by more than 70 percent since 2010.

Growth is occurring across many renewable sources, with wind and solar most prominent in recent years, the researchers say. In 2007, wind accounted for about 35 million Megawatt-hours (MWh) of electricity produced in the U.S.; since then, wind production has increased by an average of around 20 million MWh per year, rising to nearly 295 million in 2019. Meanwhile, solar is the fastest-growing of all renewables. Solar production constituted less than 1 percent of renewable energy until around 2010, but experts now project that by 2050, solar and photovoltaic energy will account for nearly half of all renewable electricity production, according to the report, commissioned by FilterBuy, a direct-to-consumer replacement air filter brand serving residences and businesses.

Growth in renewable energy production in the U.S. is widespread, but unique features of each region mean that the transition to renewables looks different from state to state. Measured by the proportion of total electricity generated from renewable sources, states in New England and the Western U.S. surpass the rest of the country, largely as a result of renewable-friendly state policies. Vermont generates a remarkable 99.9 percent of its electricity from renewables.

To identify the states with the fastest-growing renewable energy sector, researchers at FilterBuy used data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration to calculate the percentage change in renewable electricity production between 2010 and 2019. The researchers also calculated what percentage of total electricity production is accounted for by renewables, as well as the largest renewable energy source currently.

Editor’s Note: This article was submitted on behalf of FilterBuy by Lattice Publishing, Santa Monica, California. Using public and proprietary datasets, Lattice Publishing produces data-driven content on its own behalf and on behalf of brands. This article has been edited by Fuel Oil News.

See the original report, which includes a table with data for all 50 states, at: https://filterbuy.com/resources/states-largest-increase-renewable-energy/