In 2020, California became the first state to mandate that all newly built homes, with a few exceptions, must include a rooftop solar system. Will the rest of the country follow?
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10 States Leading the Charge on Renewable Energy
These are the states most focused on renewable energy programs and policies.
Editor s Note: This story originally appeared on SmartAsset.com.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) says that renewable energy can increase power grid reliability, improve air quality and create more jobs. Additionally, renewable energy can lower fuel and electricity costs, reducing the total cost of homeownership.
As Congress prepares to debate President Joe Biden’s sweeping $2 trillion American Jobs Plan, which focuses on building greener and tech-savvier infrastructure, SmartAsset looked at data to rank the states that have been leading the charge on renewable energy. This is SmartAsset’s second study on states leading the charge on renewable energy. You can read the 2019 study here.
Key Findings
Southern states still rank at the bottom. Six out of the bottom 10 states in this study are located in the South, according to Census regional divisions. West Virginia, Tennessee, Louisiana, Arkansas, Alabama and Mississippi also placed in the bottom 10 in our 2019 study. On average, the five-year (2013-2018) change in renewable energy production increased by only 6.96%, compared to a study-wide average of almost 32%. Renewable energy as a percentage of total 2018 energy production in these states was less than 17%, compared to about 41% overall.
Average carbon dioxide emissions dipped slightly. From 2012 to 2017, carbon dioxide emissions decreased by an average of 2.46% across all 50 states. The state leading the way on this is Kentucky, where emissions are down 16.95%. For a comparison, Idaho’s carbon dioxide emissions jumped up the most, increasing 18.48%.
States Leading the Charge on Renewable Energy -- 2021 Edition smartasset.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from smartasset.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.