California Farms Lead the Nation in Renewable Energy
I suppose today’s news isn’t that surprising considering the emphasis on renewable energy that we see in a lot of California efforts, but it is noteworthy just the same. As the oodles of numbers get worked through from the 2022 Census of Agriculture, it is California, Texas, and Iowa that are leading the nation when it comes to renewable energy systems on farms and ranches.Across the US, 8 percent of farms and ranches had renewable energy systems as of the 2022 Census of Ag compared to 7% for the same census in 2017.
Renewable energy systems include everything from small-scale systems, such as rooftop solar and small hydro systems, to large-scale systems, such as solar and wind farms, as well as methane digesters, and geothermal systems.
Nationally, 11 percent of all farms and ranches in the United States with renewables are in California. Texas is second with 10 percent of the U.S. total. States in the Southeast have the lowest share.
States where more than 20 percent of farms and ranches in the state had renewable systems did include Hawaii (34 percent), California (26 percent), Massachusetts, and Vermont (both 23 percent).