Appendix C

Renewable Electric Generation, Capacity and Market Share by State for 2000 and 2001

Figure C1. Renewable Net Generation by State, 2001 (Billion Kilowatthours)

Tables C1-12 present renewable electric generation and net summer capacity by State and the District of Columbia for 2000 and 2001. The five leading States for renewable electric power sector net generation and net summer capacity in 2001 were Washington, Oregon, California, New York and Alabama (Figure C1).¹³ The leading states for electric power sector hydroelectric generation were the same as for renewable generation. The high proportion of hydroelectric generation reflects the fact that electric utilities have long had sizeable hydroelectric generating operations. While Washington was first in the electric power sector’s hydroelectric generation with 26 percent of the market, California dominated the sector’s generation from biomass (15 percent), wind (52 percent), geothermal (89 percent) and solar (almost 100 percent), although solar generation was minimal. All but Delaware, Mississippi, and the District of Columbia had electric power sector renewable generation in 2001.

The five leading states for commercial and industrial sector renewable generation with 46 percent of the market were Alabama, Georgia, Maine, North Carolina, and Louisiana. The main energy source for this electricity was wood and wood waste in the industrial sector. Ten states and the District of Columbia had no renewable generation in the commercial and industrial sectors. The five leading states for commercial and industrial sector renewable net summer capacity were Alabama, Georgia, Maine, North Carolina and Virginia.

The renewable market share of total U.S. electric generation in different states ranged from a high of 83 percent in Idaho to less than 1 percent in a few states in 2001 (Table C13). Because of the hydro component some of the percentages are significantly lower than in a typical year due to low water levels in 2001. In 2000, for example Idaho’s renewable market share was over 96 percent. The market share of non-hydro renewable generation was highest in Maine at 21 percent in 2001 and second highest in California at 11 percent.

According to the Database of State Incentives for Renewable Energy (DSIRE), which is funded by the U.S. Department of Energy and managed by the North Carolina Solar Center, there are 15 states with state renewable portfolio standards (RPS) (Table C14).14 Not all RPS are mandatory requirements; in a few states such as Hawaii and Illinois, the standards were established just as goals and hence are only voluntary.

Tables

C1. Renewable Electric Power Sector Net Generation by State, 2000
C2. Renewable Commercial and Industrial Sector Net Generation by State, 2000
C3. Total Renewable Net Generation by State, 2000
C4. Renewable Electric Power Sector Net Generation by State, 2001
C5. Renewable Commercial and Industrial Sector Net Generation by State, 2001
C6. Total Renewable Net Generation by State, 2001
C7. Renewable Electric Power Sector Net Summer Capacity by State, 2000
C8. Renewable Commercial and Industrial Sector Net Summer Capacity by State, 2000
C9. Total Renewable Net Summer Capacity by State, 2000
C10. Renewable Electric Power Sector Net Summer Capacity by State, 2001
C11. Renewable Commercial and Industrial Sector Net Summer Capacity by State, 2001
C12. Total Renewable Net Summer Capacity by State, 2001
C13. Renewable Market Share of Net Generation by State, 2000 and 2001
C14. Renewable Portfolio Standards by State, 2003

Endnotes

13 The electric power sector includes electric utilities and independent power producers whose primary purpose of business is the production and sale of electricity.

14 For details, see the Database of State Incentives for Renewable Energy website: http://www.dsireusa.org/ (September 22, 2003).