Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., discusses Biden’s efforts to fund overseas mining projects, the ESG push that led to layoffs at a Jeep plant in Illinois, and the government’s energy policy.
According to the new report’s findings, states like Texas and Oklahoma, among others, are red in the United States in generating wind and solar power.
Climate Central’s WeatherPower Year in Review: 2022 showed that the country’s carbon-free solar and wind generation capacity grew to more than 238 gigawatts (GW) last year — up from about 13 GW in 2021.
FILE: A solar farm produces electricity near Bakersfield, Texas on Saturday, April 10, 2021. (Getty Images/Getty Images)
Last year, the US generated more than 683,000 gigawatt hours (GWh) of electricity from solar, around 27%, and wind, around 73%, combined — a 16% increase from 588,471 GWh in 2021.
While California and Florida were the top producers of solar power, it was Texas that led the nation in both solar and wind power.
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According to the report, Texas saw the largest increase in megawatt (MW) solar capacity from 2021 to 2022, adding more than 1,660 MW. The Lone Star State had the largest capacity for wind power in 2022 at around 37,365 MW.
Iowa, Oklahoma, Kansas, Illinois and California followed Texas in the list of the top 10 states with the largest wind power capacity. California, Texas, Florida, North Carolina and Arizona, Nevada, Georgia, Virginia, New Jersey and Massachusetts are the top 10 states with the most solar power capacity.
The report’s authors concluded that the country’s ability to generate electricity from sunlight and wind can grow fast enough to support the Biden administration’s goal of achieving net-zero carbon emissions targets by 2050.
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It notes that power capacity is poised for faster expansion in the wake of the Inflation Reduction Law that went into effect in August 2022.