Get customized results?

We’ll ask a few questions to find more savings.

Let's go No thanks

Solar Energy Generation by State

Check out how your state is performing on this green technology

Updated:11/16/2023

866-571-4820

Trustpilot
Trustpilot

November Solar Energy Generation by State Report


JasonDoiy/iStock/Getty images

California once again takes first place among states generating electricity from solar power this month. The Golden State produced 28% of the U.S. total of 25,539 thousand megawatt-hours, according to ChooseEnergy.com®’s November Solar Generation Report. The report analyzes the most recent data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA).

Following is a breakdown of the rest of the states (all shown in thousand megawatt-hours) using the EIA’s most recent data from August 2023:

Table of Contents

  1. Top 10 states generating electricity from solar
  2. Get your free solar savings estimate
  3. Solar power by state
  4. States with the highest percentage of power from solar
  5. Top 10 states for percentage of total electricity from solar
  6. More resources
  7. Need more information?

Top 10 states generating electricity from solar

State August solar generation (MW) % of National solar generation
California 7,199 28.4%
Texas 3,695 14.6%
Florida 1,707 6.7%
North Carolina 1,279 5.0%
Nevada 1,145 4.5%
Arizona 1,116 4.4%
Georgia 856 3.4%
New York 696 2.7%
Virginia 628 2.5%
Colorado 616 2.4%

Get your free solar savings estimate

You can significantly lower your energy costs by investing in solar panels. Enter some basic information below and we’ll provide an instant, free estimate of solar cost and savings for your home.

U.S. solar generation of electricity experienced a slight decrease from July to August, decreasing 4.5% nationwide. Only ten states, generated  more solar electricity in August than they did in July.

The following table shows solar generation by state for July and August, and the percentage change from month to month. States are listed in order of the amount of solar power they produced (including thermal), shown in thousand megawatt-hours. Alabama, Alaska, New Hampshire, South Dakota, and North Dakota are excluded from the table because they did not generate solar energy in August.

Solar power by state

State July solar generation (MW) August solar generation (MW) Monthly percentage change
California 7,656 7,199 -6.0%
Texas 3,775 3,695 -2.1%
Florida 1,687 1,707 1.2%
North Carolina 1,340 1,279 -4.6%
Nevada 1,285 1,145 -10.9%
Arizona 1,213 1,116 -8.0%
Georgia 849 856 0.8%
New York 735 696 -5.3%
Virginia 679 628 -7.5%
Colorado 618 616 -0.3%
Massachusetts 620 607 -2.1%
New Jersey 556 537 -3.4%
Utah 570 482 -15.4%
Illinois 393 373 -5.1%
New Mexico 346 373 7.8%
South Carolina 362 361 -0.3%
Indiana 311 295 -5.1%
Oregon 339 275 -18.9%
Minnesota 271 260 -4.1%
Maryland 257 251 -2.3%
Ohio 223 212 -4.9%
Hawaii 199 206 3.5%
Michigan 197 183 -7.1%
Wisconsin 202 181 -10.4%
Connecticut 180 172 -4.4%
Pennsylvania 161 156 -3.1%
Idaho 144 129 -10.4%
Maine 133 129 -3.0%
Arkansas 109 124 13.8%
Tennessee 123 117 -4.9%
Washington 121 111 -8.3%
Rhode Island 111 105 -5.4%
Iowa 110 103 -6.4%
Missouri 93 94 1.1%
Mississippi 66 71 7.6%
Louisiana 63 59 -6.3%
Montana 38 51 34.2%
Vermont 50 47 -6.0%
Delaware 38 35 -7.9%
Kentucky 29 31 6.9%
Oklahoma 24 25 4.2%
Kansas 23 23 0%
Wyoming 25 23 -8.0%
Nebraska 15 14 -6.7%
West Virginia 5 5 0%
United States 26,539 25,350 -4.5%

States with the highest percentage of power from solar

Nationally, solar accounted for about 6% of the electricity produced in August. Massachusetts tops this list in August, with about 33.1% of its electricity coming from solar generation. Following are the states that produced the largest percentage of their power from solar:

Top 10 states for percentage of total electricity from solar

State % of State Generation
Massachusetts 33.1%
California 31.4%
Nevada 27.3%
Vermont 25%
Hawaii 24.8%
Maine 13.3%
Utah 13.1%
Rhode Island 12.7%
Colorado 11.1%
New Mexico 10.2%

Need more information?

Are you a journalist or researcher writing about this topic who needs to know more about historical rates? Send us details about what you need and we’ll get back to you with an answer and a relevant quote from one of our rate experts.