Renewable Energy Grows Nationwide, Including W.Va.

A recent study from the group Environment America finds renewable power generation in West Virginia almost doubled over the last decade, and most of it in the last two years. 

Thirty-two states produce 10% of their electricity from wind, solar and geothermal energy, and another 15 states get more than 30% from renewables.  

Wyoming, by far the largest coal producer in the country, gets 75% of its energy from renewables, and South Dakota currently gets 95% of its electricity that way. Tennessee comes in last at just 1%. 

West Virginia currently ranks 26^th in wind generation. Solar continues to lag with the state ranking 48^th for overall usage.  

However, in just the last two years, the amount of energy produced by solar in West Virginia has jumped from 50 to 350 gigawatt hours.  

The Mountain State’s renewable power generation has risen from 4% to 7% in 2025. Combining wind and solar energy, West Virginia generates enough electricity to power more than 216,000 homes a year. 

Form Energy, located in Weirton, began shipping utility scale batteries in 2025 but West Virginia’s own battery storage capacity has declined, to 0.03 gigawatts, down from 0.07 over the last decade, ranking 51^st.