US states by solar electricity generation
California had the highest solar electricity generation of 51 states in 2016, at 27.04 TWh. North Dakota had the lowest, at 0 TWh. The median was 0.09 TWh and the figure for the United States was 54.87 TWh. Source: the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
All states, 2016
Full ranking
| Rank | States | 2016 | Change on 2015 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | California | 27.04 | +29.8% |
| 2 | Arizona | 5.37 | +11.2% |
| 3 | North Carolina | 3.59 | +145.8% |
| 4 | Nevada | 3.5 | +89.6% |
| 5 | New Jersey | 2.22 | +7.6% |
| 6 | Massachusetts | 1.86 | +41.8% |
| 7 | Utah | 1.2 | +1,115.9% |
| 8 | Texas | 1.12 | +79.8% |
| 9 | Georgia | 1.08 | +368.7% |
| 10 | New York | 1.01 | +47% |
| 11 | Colorado | 1 | +55.5% |
| 12 | New Mexico | 0.91 | +20% |
| 13 | Hawaii | 0.85 | +23.5% |
| 14 | Maryland | 0.73 | +59.1% |
| 15 | Florida | 0.43 | +12.9% |
| 16 | Pennsylvania | 0.36 | +11.1% |
| 17 | Connecticut | 0.34 | +59.3% |
| 18 | Indiana | 0.24 | +44.5% |
| 19 | Missouri | 0.2 | +23.3% |
| 20 | Oregon | 0.19 | +65.9% |
| 21 | Louisiana | 0.19 | +24.2% |
| 22 | Ohio | 0.17 | +14.8% |
| 23 | Tennessee | 0.16 | +21% |
| 24 | Vermont | 0.13 | +31.6% |
| 25 | Delaware | 0.12 | -7.3% |
| 26 | Washington | 0.09 | +60.1% |
| 27 | Illinois | 0.09 | +12.6% |
| 28 | Michigan | 0.06 | +65.2% |
| 29 | Virginia | 0.06 | +108.9% |
| 30 | Iowa | 0.06 | +45.2% |
| 31 | New Hampshire | 0.05 | +117% |
| 32 | Minnesota | 0.05 | +65.7% |
| 33 | Rhode Island | 0.04 | +60.5% |
| 34 | South Carolina | 0.04 | +258.9% |
| 35 | Idaho | 0.04 | +538.6% |
| 36 | Alabama | 0.04 | +1,110.9% |
| 37 | Wisconsin | 0.04 | +29.4% |
| 38 | Arkansas | 0.03 | +423.7% |
| 39 | Kentucky | 0.03 | +131.7% |
| 40 | District of Columbia | 0.03 | -2.1% |
| 41 | Maine | 0.03 | +54.3% |
| 42 | Montana | 0.01 | +33.2% |
| 43 | Kansas | 0.01 | +65.9% |
| 44 | Oklahoma | 0.01 | +101.2% |
| 45 | Nebraska | 0.01 | +391.9% |
| 46 | Mississippi | 0.01 | +278.3% |
| 47 | West Virginia | 0.01 | +26.4% |
| 48 | Wyoming | 0 | +24.8% |
| 49 | Alaska | 0 | |
| 50 | South Dakota | 0 | +104.4% |
| 51 | North Dakota | 0 | +4% |
Other periods
About this ranking
Net electricity generated from solar energy in the year, in terawatt hours: utility-scale photovoltaic and solar thermal plants of 1 megawatt or more, plus the U.S. Energy Information Administration's estimate of small-scale photovoltaic systems such as rooftop panels.
United States and its states only, from 2014, the first year of EIA's small-scale estimates. The state total in electricity generation leaves small-scale solar out, so solar divided by that total overstates its share.
Every value in the ranking comes from the same publisher and the same period, so the states are compared on one definition. Equal values share a rank.
How to cite
Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration. Electricity data browser: net generation, all solar (utility-scale and estimated small-scale), all sectors, annual (EIA-923 and EIA-861M). Retrieved through Data Commons (datacommons.org). https://www.eia.gov/electricity/data/browser/. Retrieved 2026-10-11.Use this data in your AI agent
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Rank US states by solar electricity generation using official data, and cite the source.
rank_places {"indicator":"electricity_generation_solar","level":"region","within":"United States","limit":10}
GET https://invokely.ai/api/v1/rank?indicator=electricity_generation_solar&level=region&within=United%20States&limit=10Questions
Which state has the highest solar electricity generation?
California, with 27.04 TWh in 2016, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
Which state has the lowest solar electricity generation?
North Dakota, with 0 TWh in 2016.
Where does this ranking come from?
Every value comes from one source and one period, so the places are comparable: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Electricity data browser: net generation, all solar (utility-scale and estimated small-scale), all sectors, annual (EIA-923 and EIA-861M). Retrieved 2026-10-11.