Madhumitha Jaganmohan
Research expert covering climate and environmental sustainability
Get in touch with us nowU.S. incentives for energy efficiency and renewables by state 2021
This statistic displays the leading U.S. states, based on the number of incentives and policies used by the state to promote energy efficiency and renewable energy as of January 2021. During this time, Minnesota was ranked second with 134 incentives and policies.
Renewable energy policies – additional information
Investment in clean energy worldwide has increased in recent years from some 72.9 billion U.S. dollars in 2005 to 302 billion U.S. dollars in 2019. As the importance of deploying renewables has become more urgent, countries have begun to develop policies to encourage the development of renewable energy projects.
As of January 2021, California had the highest number of incentives and policies in the United States that were dedicated to renewables and energy efficiency, totaling some 146 regulations. In comparison, West Virginia had 10 policies. A large majority of incentives and policies used to promote renewables and energy efficiency in the U.S. are rebate programs, totaling over 1,072 programs.
Based on clean technology policies, California is often considered one of the leaders in the United States. One of the first notable renewable energy incentives to be put in place was the state’s retail rate net metering policy under the California Public Utilities Commission. This incentive has increased California's solar capacity like no other state. Net metering is a type of policy that allows residential and commercial customers who generate their own electricity to feed their unused electricity back into the grid. This electricity provides a credit against periods of time where the consumer’s electricity use exceeds the output of the system. In return, customers must only pay for their net energy consumption.
Renewable energy policies – additional information
Investment in clean energy worldwide has increased in recent years from some 72.9 billion U.S. dollars in 2005 to 302 billion U.S. dollars in 2019. As the importance of deploying renewables has become more urgent, countries have begun to develop policies to encourage the development of renewable energy projects.
As of January 2021, California had the highest number of incentives and policies in the United States that were dedicated to renewables and energy efficiency, totaling some 146 regulations. In comparison, West Virginia had 10 policies. A large majority of incentives and policies used to promote renewables and energy efficiency in the U.S. are rebate programs, totaling over 1,072 programs.
Based on clean technology policies, California is often considered one of the leaders in the United States. One of the first notable renewable energy incentives to be put in place was the state’s retail rate net metering policy under the California Public Utilities Commission. This incentive has increased California's solar capacity like no other state. Net metering is a type of policy that allows residential and commercial customers who generate their own electricity to feed their unused electricity back into the grid. This electricity provides a credit against periods of time where the consumer’s electricity use exceeds the output of the system. In return, customers must only pay for their net energy consumption.
