Below the surface, U.S. is united on energy policy

The U.S. is so polarized that everything is political, including renewable energy. While ‘blue’ states push progressive policies, ‘red’ states cling to fossil fuels. Yet below the surface, the country is more united on the switch to renewables – just for different reasons. 

Launched in 2022, President Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) is the most important piece of climate legislation in U.S. history. Its tax credits, grants, and other incentives could generate up to $278 billion in new investment for renewable energy and electric mobility.

Surpassing coal

The results so far are impressive: the share of energy from renewable sources more than tripled over the past decade, reaching 22% in 2022 – surpassing coal for the first time. Energy from geothermal, wind and especially solar sources are projected to increase sharply over the next few years. 

But at the same time, the U.S. remains a major producer and consumer of hydrocarbons (i.e. oil and gas). While Russia and Saudi Arabia have maintained relatively stable production levels over the past decade, U.S. oil production has soared to overtake them both. America now is the world’s largest oil producer, hitting a record 14 million barrels per day in 2023. 

The divide between ‘renewable’ and ‘fossil fuel’ America is, to a large extent, political. A recent Pew survey shows 88% of Democrats are concerned about climate change, versus just 50% of Republicans.  

War on fossil fuels

‘Red’ (i.e. Republican-leaning) states, particularly in the South and Midwest, continue to rely heavily on fossil fuels for their energy. They often have local fossil fuel industries, and politicians defending the status quo. 

Opposition to renewables has several sources: skepticism about climate change, concerns about cost, and the perceived danger to the local economy. For many Republicans, the Biden Administration’s focus on renewables is a prime example of government overreach, and nothing less than a ‘war on fossil fuels’.

So, is U.S. energy policy in danger of fracturing along ideological lines? Not so fast. Let’s take a look at the five states with the largest share of wind-generated power (2022 figures): Iowa (62%), South Dakota (55%), Kansas (47%), Oklahoma (43%) and North Dakota (37%). Those are all Republican-led, as is the state producing the most wind power in absolute terms (Texas, 114,000 GWh). Overall, 70% of wind power comes from red states. Why? Because they’re located in the ‘Wind Belt’, where it makes economical sense.

Energy dependence

True enough, blue states lead the nation in solar power generation, with the top five made up of California (27%), Nevada (23%), Massachusetts (19%), Vermont (18%), and Hawaii (17%), and blue states generating two-thirds of total solar power output. Even so, in absolute numbers, Texas (25,000 GWh) comes second after California (62,500 GWh). 

What this says, is that both red and blue states support renewable energy. They just do so for different reasons. Democrats want to reduce global warming and pollution, Republicans want to reduce energy bills and energy dependence. As the investment cost for renewables keeps dropping, at least this political divide will disappear like snow before the sun. 

Read more on our E-book: Fleet Management: USA vs Europe

Image: Brent Moore, CC BY-NC 2.0 DEED