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Mapped: Greatest Sources of Electrical energy by State and Province
On a nationwide scale, america and Canada depend on a really completely different make-up of sources to generate their electrical energy.
The U.S. primarily makes use of pure fuel, coal, and nuclear energy, whereas Canada depends on each hydro and nuclear. That mentioned, when zooming in on the province or state stage, particular person major electrical energy sources can differ drastically.
Right here’s a have a look at the electrical energy technology within the states and provinces of those two international locations utilizing information from the Nuclear Vitality Institute (2021) and the Canada Vitality Regulator (2019).
Pure Fuel
Pure fuel is broadly used for electrical energy technology in america. Often called a “cleaner” fossil gas, its abundance, coupled with a longtime nationwide distribution community and comparatively low value, makes it the main electrical energy supply within the nation.
In 2021, 38% of the 4120 terawatt-hours (TWh) of electrical energy generated within the U.S. got here from pure fuel. Not surprisingly, greater than 40% of American states have pure fuel as their largest electrical energy supply.
Listed here are some states which have the biggest shares of pure gas-sourced electrical energy.
| State/Province | % of Electrical energy from Pure Fuel |
|---|---|
| 🇺🇸 Rhode Island | 90.9 |
| 🇺🇸 Delaware | 85.8 |
| 🇺🇸 Massachusetts | 76.9 |
| 🇺🇸 Florida | 73.9 |
| 🇺🇸 Mississippi | 72.1 |
In Canada, pure fuel is barely the third-biggest electrical energy supply (behind hydro and nuclear), accounting for 11% of the 632 TWh of electrical energy produced in 2019. Alberta is the one province with pure fuel as its primary supply of electrical energy.
Nuclear
Nuclear energy is a carbon-free vitality supply that makes up a substantial share of the vitality generated in each the U.S. and Canada.
19% of America’s and 15% of Canada’s electrical energy comes from nuclear energy. Whereas the odds are shut to 1 one other, it’s good to notice that america generates 6 to 7 occasions extra electrical energy than Canada every year, yielding much more nuclear energy than Canada when it comes to gigawatt hours (GWh) per 12 months.
As seen within the map, many states and provinces with nuclear as their primary supply of electrical energy are concentrated within the japanese half of the 2 international locations.
Within the U.S., Illinois, Pennsylvania, and South Carolina are prime producers when it comes to GWh/12 months. Illinois and South Carolina even have nuclear as their major electrical energy supply, whereas Pennsylvania’s electrical energy manufacturing from pure fuel exceeds that from nuclear.
The overwhelming majority of Canada’s nuclear reactors (18 of 19) are in Ontario, with the nineteenth in New Brunswick. Each of those provinces depend on nuclear as their largest supply of electrical energy.
Renewables: Hydro, Wind and Photo voltaic
Out of the several types of renewable electrical energy sources, hydro is probably the most prevalent in North America. For instance, 60% of Canada’s and 6% of the U.S.’s electrical energy comes from hydropower.
Listed here are the states and provinces which have hydro as their largest supply of electrical energy.
| State/Province | % of Electrical energy from Hydro |
|---|---|
| 🇨🇦 Manitoba | 97 |
| 🇨🇦 Newfoundland and Labrador | 95 |
| 🇨🇦 Quebec | 94 |
| 🇨🇦 British Columbia | 87 |
| 🇨🇦 Yukon | 80 |
| 🇺🇸 Washington | 65 |
| 🇺🇸 Idaho | 51 |
| 🇺🇸 Vermont | 50 |
| 🇨🇦 Northwest Territories | 47 |
| 🇺🇸 Oregon | 46 |
Wind and solar energy collectively comprise a small proportion of whole electrical energy generated in each international locations. Whereas no state or province depends on photo voltaic as its largest supply of electrical energy, Iowa, Kansas, Oklahoma, and South Dakota rely totally on wind for his or her electrical energy, together with Canada’s Prince Edward Island (PEI).
Coal and Oil
Coal and oil are emission-heavy electrical energy sources nonetheless prevalent in North America.
Presently, 22% of America’s and seven% of Canada’s electrical energy comes from coal, with locations similar to Kentucky, Missouri, West Virginia, Saskatchewan, and Nova Scotia nonetheless counting on coal as their largest sources of electrical energy.
Sure areas additionally use petroleum to generate their electrical energy. Though its use for this function is declining, it’s nonetheless the largest supply of electrical energy in each Hawaii and Nunavut.
Over the following few years, it is going to be attention-grabbing to watch the usage of these fossil fuels for electrical energy technology within the U.S. and Canada. Regardless of the variations in local weather commitments between the 2 international locations, decreasing coal and oil-related emissions could also be a vital a part of hitting decarbonization targets in a well timed method.