this post was submitted on 28 Dec 2023
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40% of US electricity is now emissions-free (arstechnica.com)
submitted 11 months ago by boem@lemmy.world to c/technology@lemmy.world
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[–] ImmaculateTaste@lemmy.frozeninferno.xyz 25 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Wait really, no joke??

[–] sugar_in_your_tea@sh.itjust.works 2 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago) (1 children)

Not in my state, we're like 10-15% emission free wind and solar), and like 60-70% from coal.

[–] NoSpiritAnimal@lemmy.world 21 points 11 months ago (2 children)

Believe it or not, your state was included in the national average

[–] TheGreenGolem@lemmy.dbzer0.com 4 points 11 months ago

Wait. That's how averages work? The more you know...

[–] sugar_in_your_tea@sh.itjust.works 3 points 11 months ago (2 children)

What I think is interesting is just how variable it is. This Wikipedia article breaks it down by state. There's no obvious political explanation here, and even very similar states have very different energy production.

For example, here's the top 10 (with 2016/2020 presidential party vote):

  1. Vermont (D) - 99.7%
  2. South Dakota (R) - 82.7%
  3. Washington (D) - 81.9%
  4. New Hampshire (D) - 71.6%
  5. Idaho (R) - 70.2%
  6. Maine (D) - 66.1%
  7. Oregon (D) - 65%
  8. Illinois (D) - 64.5%
  9. South Carolina (R) - 60.8%
  10. Kansas (R) - 60.8%

And the bottom 10 (ignoring DC):

41 - Massachusetts (D) - 17.8%
42 - Ohio (R) - 17.4%
43 - Florida (R) - 17.4%
44 - Missouri (R) - 16.6%
45 - Utah (R) - 12.4%
46 - Indiana (R) - 9.8%
47 - Kentucky (R) - 7.6%
48 - Rhode Island (D) - 7.2%
49 - West Virginia (R) - 5.1%
50 - Delaware (D) - 3.2%

So 6/10 of the top 10 are states that voted Democrat, and 7/10 of the bottom 10 are states that voted Republican. That trend doesn't really tell the story though (3 of the next 5 voted Republican), which is really interesting because it's such a political talking point at the national level (e.g. Dems are in favor of green energy, Reps are in favor of fossil fuels).

Even some very similar, adjacent states have very different generation numbers:

  • Alabama (43%) vs Mississippi (20%)
  • Idaho (70%) vs Utah (12%)
  • Tennessee (59%) vs Kentucky (8%)

So there's a lot of progress that can be made at the low end by pointing at their neighbors.

[–] AnneBonny@lemmy.dbzer0.com 1 points 11 months ago

What I think is interesting is just how variable it is.

The states themselves are very different from each other.

[–] ironeagl@sh.itjust.works 1 points 10 months ago

Try breaking it down by county.