Where does your electricity come from?
The answer depends on where you live.
New Hampshire gets a higher proportion of its power from nuclear (56%) than any other state.i
West Virginia pulls a staggering 91% of its electricity from coal.
Rhode Island gets 91% of its power from natural gas.
Because of Hawaii’s isolated location, it gets 65% of its electricity from imported petroleum — which is why Hawaii’s electricity prices are nearly triple the national average.ii
Washington draws nearly 65% of its electricity from hydro power.
In blustery Iowa, 55% of the power comes from wind.
Certain energy sources, however, don’t provide much power even in the states that are most reliant on them.
Vermont leads the country in the use of biomass, but only gets 25% of its electricity from it.
California is the national leader in solar power, but it still only provides about 17% of the state’s electricity.
And while Nevada is the national leader in geothermal power, it provides less than 10% of the state’s electricity.
What does the national picture look like?
20 states (and Washington D.C.) get more electricity from natural gas than any other source.
Another 15 states use coal as their largest source of electricity.
Five states get the most power from hydro.
Another five have nuclear as their leading power source.
There are four states where wind power is the largest source of electricity.
As for petroleum ... that’s just Hawaii.
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW:
- Thanks to differences in geography, economics, and natural resources, America’s states have wildly varying electricity sources.
- With nearly 91% of its electricity coming from coal, West Virginia is the state that is most reliant on a single power source.
- The electricity source with the lowest level of dominance in any state is geothermal, which provides about 9.5% of power in Nevada.
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