Climate Matters•March 12, 2025
A Decade of Growth for U.S. Solar and Wind
KEY CONCEPTS
The U.S. generated a record 756,621 gigawatt-hours (GWh) of electricity from solar and wind in 2024 — enough to power the equivalent of more than 70 million average American homes.
This is more than triple the amount generated a decade ago, in 2015.
Together, solar and wind accounted for a record 17% of total U.S. electricity generation in 2024.
Solar is the fastest-growing source of electricity in the U.S.
Led by Iowa, South Dakota, Kansas, and New Mexico, 30 states generated at least 10% of their in-state electricity from solar and wind combined in 2024.
California, Texas, and Florida generated the most electricity from solar in 2024. Texas, Iowa, and Oklahoma generated the most from wind.
This Climate Matters analysis was made possible by open access data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). See Methodology for details.
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Solar and wind: key to meeting demand while reducing pollution
The electric power sector — which generates and distributes electricity to homes, businesses, factories, electric vehicles, and farming operations — produces 25% of heat-trapping pollution in the U.S.
Most of this pollution comes from burning fossil fuels to produce electricity. Fossil fuels include coal, oil, and natural gas (also known as methane gas).
As demand for electricity continues to grow, producing more clean electricity from renewable sources like solar and wind will be key to meeting surging demand while reducing heat-trapping pollution.
This clean energy transition is underway around the globe. In the U.S., investment in clean energy technologies reached record levels in 2024. In 2023, the U.S. added 149,000 clean energy jobs, with employment in that sector growing at more than double the rate of the overall economy.
Building on clean energy progress and transitioning rapidly away from fossil fuels in the U.S. and around the world is essential to limit dangerous warming and ensure a safer future for younger generations.
According to the latest IPCC reports, global use of coal, oil, and natural gas must be cut by 95%, 60%, and 45% respectively (compared to 2019 levels) within the next 25 years to limit future warming to 1.5°C (2.7°F).
Climate Central used the latest solar and wind energy data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) to assess clean energy growth over the last 10 years (2015 to 2024) in all 50 states. See Methodology for details.
This analysis is limited to electricity generation — or how much electricity was produced by solar and wind installations. Information on solar and wind capacity can be found in Climate Central’s 2024 report, A Decade of Growth in Solar and Wind Power: Trends Across the U.S.
A decade of growth in electricity from solar and wind
In 2024, the U.S. generated a record 756,621 gigawatt-hours (GWh) of electricity from solar and wind — enough to power the equivalent of more than 70 million average American homes.
This is more than triple the amount generated a decade ago, in 2015.
Globally, solar and wind are the fastest-growing sources of electricity in history.
Solar is the fastest-growing source of electricity in the U.S., growing 7.8-fold over the last 10 years. Over the same period, wind power grew 2.4-fold, followed by natural gas (methane gas), which grew 1.4-fold.
From 2015 to 2024,
Solar generation grew in all 50 states and Washington, D.C.
Wind generation grew in 39 states. (A total of 42 states produce electricity from wind.)
Texas, California, Iowa, Oklahoma, and Florida had the largest growth in combined solar and wind generation.
Record levels of electricity from solar and wind in 2024
In 2024 the U.S. generated more electricity from solar and wind than ever before: a total of 756,621 GWh. Of this total, 40% (303,167 GWh) came from solar and 60% (453,454 GWh) came from wind.
In 2024 solar power grew 27% and wind power grew 8% compared to 2023 levels.
California and Texas led in solar power. Together, these two states generated 41% of all U.S. solar power in 2024.
Small-scale solar plays a big role. About 28% of all U.S. solar power generated in 2024 came from small-scale solar installations, such as residential rooftop or community solar systems, which have less than 1 megawatt of capacity.
The middle of the country is a wind powerhouse. Texas led the way in electricity produced from wind, generating 28% of all U.S. wind power in 2024. Texas generated almost three times more wind power than the next biggest wind energy-producing state (Iowa). Wind accounted for 63% of all electricity generated in Iowa — a larger share of total in-state electricity generation than any other state.
Top 10 states for electricity generated from solar (utility-scale and small-scale) and wind in 2024. Find data for all 50 states and Washington, D.C. in the full dataset.
State | Solar generation in 2024 (GWh) | State | Wind generation in 2024 (GWh) |
|---|---|---|---|
1. California | 79,544 | Texas | 124,936 |
2. Texas | 44,506 | Iowa | 44,306 |
3. Florida | 23,302 | Oklahoma | 38,635 |
4. Arizona | 16,237 | Kansas | 30,320 |
5. Nevada | 14,524 | Illinois | 24,432 |
6. North Carolina | 13,174 | Colorado | 17,603 |
7. Georgia | 9,348 | New Mexico | 15,285 |
8. Virginia | 8,076 | North Dakota | 15,030 |
9. New York | 7,905 | Minnesota | 14,934 |
10. Colorado | 6,975 | California | 14,818 |
U.S. Total | 303,167 | U.S. Total | 453,454 |
Solar and wind: a growing role in the electricity mix
U.S. electricity demand grew in 2024 and is forecast to continue to rise with demand from electrification, manufacturing, and data centers. An increasing share of that growing demand is being met by solar and wind — a trend that EIA forecasts will continue in the years ahead.
Together, solar and wind accounted for 17% of total U.S. electricity generation in 2024 — a greater share of the electricity mix than ever before.
Although the majority of U.S. electricity still comes from planet-warming fossil fuels (mainly natural gas, also known as methane gas), the relative contribution of fossil fuels to the overall energy mix is decreasing as solar and wind grow.
Fossil fuels accounted for 58% of electricity generated in the U.S. in 2024, compared to 67% in 2015 and 72% in 2001.
This decrease reflects a drop in electricity generated from coal — which accounted for about half of the electricity mix in the early 2000s compared to 15% in 2024, when it was surpassed by combined solar and wind power. Over the same period, however, electricity generated by burning natural gas (methane gas) has nearly tripled, slowing the transition away from fossil fuels.
In 2024, 30 states generated at least 10% of their in-state electricity from solar and wind combined (compared to 25 states in 2023).
Of these, the top 10 states all generated at least one-third of their electricity from solar and wind:
State | In-state electricity generated from solar and wind, 2024 |
|---|---|
Iowa | 65% |
South Dakota | 61% |
Kansas | 52% |
New Mexico | 50% |
Oklahoma | 41% |
Colorado | 40% |
California | 38% |
North Dakota | 35% |
Maine | 34% |
Nebraska | 33% |
Solar accounted for more than 25% of electricity generated in California, Nevada, and Massachusetts in 2024.
Wind accounted for more than 25% of electricity generated in the following nine states in 2024: Iowa, South Dakota, Kansas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, North Dakota, Nebraska, Colorado, and Minnesota.
LOCAL STORY ANGLES
Check your daily solar and wind generation forecast.
Climate Central’s WeatherPower tool provides a multi-day forecast of solar and wind generation by state, country, or congressional district.
Explore clean energy jobs in your state.
The U.S. Department of Energy’s annual Energy & Employment Jobs Report includes data on workforce characteristics in electricity generation including solar and wind, as well as county-level data on energy sector employment.
Bust solar and wind power myths.
Rebutting 33 False Claims About Solar, Wind, and Electric Vehicles, an April 2024 report from Columbia University’s Sabin Center for Climate Change Law, offers quick facts to clarify common points of misinformation and disinformation about solar, wind, and electric vehicles.
See where clean energy investment is flowing.
The Clean Investment Monitor, a database from Rhodium Group and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, tracks private and public investment in the manufacture and deployment (including retail purchases) of emissions-reducing technologies in the U.S. Use Clean Investment Monitor’s data dashboards to compare levels of clean investment across states. Climate Central’s 2024 brief, Clean Energy Investment in Every State, summarizes leading clean energy technologies in each state.
Map energy facilities, including solar and wind.
The EIA’s Renewable Electricity Infrastructure and Resources Dashboard maps data on renewable energy facilities across the U.S. The U.S. Energy Atlas provides searchable data and interactive maps for all aspects of the nation's energy system. The U.S Large-Scale Solar Photovoltaic Database maps the locations of ground-mounted photovoltaic facilities with capacity of 1 megawatt or more. The U.S. Wind Turbine Database maps the locations of all land-based and offshore wind turbines in the U.S. Both databases are developed and maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.
CONTACT EXPERTS
Eric Larson, PhD
Senior Scientist (Energy Systems) at Climate Central
Senior Research Faculty, Andlinger Center for Energy and the Environment, Princeton University
Relevant expertise: clean energy technologies, clean energy systems
Contact: elarson@princeton.edu
Sanya Carley, PhD
Professor of Energy Policy and City Planning
University of Pennsylvania
Relevant expertise: energy policy, energy justice, just transition
Contact: scarley@design.upenn.edu
FIND EXPERTS
Submit a request to SciLine from the American Association for the Advancement of Science or to the Climate Data Concierge from Columbia University. These free services rapidly connect journalists to relevant scientific experts.
Explore databases such as 500 Women Scientists, BIPOC Climate and Energy Justice PhDs, and Diverse Sources to find and amplify diverse expert voices.
Reach out to your State Climate Office or the nearest Land-Grant University to connect with scientists, educators, and extension staff in your local area.
METHODOLOGY
All national and state-level data on electricity generation from solar and wind come from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). All electricity generation data for 2015-2024 come from EIA’s net generation statistics in their Electricity Data Browser. Data was accessed on March 6, 2025. Note that the latest EIA data are preliminary estimates. These are replaced by actual values from final data collection typically by the fall following the data collection year (preliminary estimates for 2024 should be final by the fall of 2025). See Electricity Data Browser terms and definitions for details.
To calculate the portion of total electricity generation (nationally, for 50 U.S. states, and for Washington, D.C.) contributed by all solar (utility- and small-scale) and wind, we compared electricity generation for all solar and wind to a combined total reflecting electricity generation from all fuels (utility-scale) plus small-scale solar. Within all fuels (utility-scale), fossil fuels reflect the combined total of coal, natural gas (methane gas), petroleum (liquid and coke), and other gases.
Solar and wind 10-year growth is a direct comparison between generation in 2015 and 2024.
Generation was converted from GWh per year to equivalent average American homes powered using EIA’s estimated average of 10,791 kilowatt-hours per year per home.