Clean Energy Momentum State Ranking

The Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) developed the Clean Energy Momentum State Ranking to evaluate how US states are driving the transition to clean energy. The ranking uses 12 metrics across three categories: technical progress (renewable energy generation, energy savings, and electric vehicle sales), direct effects (job creation and pollution reduction), and future-oriented policies (renewable energy, energy efficiency, and carbon reduction). California is identified as the overall leader, while Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Hawaii also rank in the top five. The analysis concludes that state-level leadership is critical for national momentum, particularly in creating jobs and improving public health, and recommends that states facilitate business involvement and improve energy equity for low-income communities.

• California is the top-performing state in the Clean Energy Momentum State Ranking, leading in electric vehicle adoption and ranking in the top five for residential solar capacity per household, energy savings, clean energy jobs, renewable electricity standard targets, ease of corporate renewable energy procurement, and carbon reduction targets.
• Other top-ranking states include Vermont, which leads in clean energy jobs per capita and carbon reduction targets; Massachusetts, which has the strongest energy efficiency resource standard; Rhode Island, which leads in energy savings; and Hawaii, which is first in residential solar.
• Clean energy progress is evident across the US, with wind farms in 41 states providing electricity for over 20 million households, the addition of solar panels for two million households in 2016, and over half a million plug-in electric vehicles on the road.
• The transition to clean energy provides significant socio-economic benefits, including the creation of over half a million jobs in solar, wind, hydro, and geothermal energy, and four times that amount in energy efficiency.
• The analysis suggests that any state can lead in clean energy regardless of its natural resource endowment, as evidenced by South Dakota's lead in renewable energy use in electricity generation and Wyoming's lead in per-capita renewable energy construction.

APA

Union of Concerned Scientists (2017). Clean Energy Momentum State Ranking. https://www.ucs.org/sites/default/files/attach/2017/04/Clean-Energy-Momentum-executive-summary.pdf

Chicago

Union of Concerned Scientists. Clean Energy Momentum State Ranking. 2017. https://www.ucs.org/sites/default/files/attach/2017/04/Clean-Energy-Momentum-executive-summary.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Union of Concerned Scientists |title=Clean Energy Momentum State Ranking |date=April 2017 |url=https://www.ucs.org/sites/default/files/attach/2017/04/Clean-Energy-Momentum-executive-summary.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{unionofconcernedscientists2017clean, author = {{Union of Concerned Scientists}}, title = {{Clean Energy Momentum State Ranking}}, institution = {Union of Concerned Scientists}, year = {2017}, month = apr, url = {https://www.ucs.org/sites/default/files/attach/2017/04/Clean-Energy-Momentum-executive-summary.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }