Wind-Water-Solar Generation Surpasses Demand in Two U.S. States

New data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) show a notable milestone in the U.S. energy transition: in 2025, two states generated more electricity from wind, water, and solar than their total electricity demand.

According to analysis by Mark Z. Jacobson of Stanford University, South Dakota and Montana each supplied over 100% of their combined grid and behind-the-meter electricity demand from Wind-Water-Solar (WWS) sources, while 14 states generated between 50% and 124% of their electricity demand from WWS.

South Dakota produced 124.1% of its electricity demand from renewables, driven primarily by wind (87.4%), along with hydropower (33.6%) and solar (3.1%). Montana generated 101.6% of its demand from renewables, with hydropower providing 60.1%, wind 38.4%, and solar 3.1%. Surplus renewable electricity from these states is typically exported through regional electricity markets.

Despite these high renewable shares, electricity prices remain relatively low. The U.S. average residential electricity price in 2025 was 17.3 cents per kWh, compared with 13.5 cents in South Dakota and 13.12 cents in Montana. Across the 14 states with the highest WWS shares, 12 had electricity prices between 1.9 and 5.5 cents per kWh below the national average.

Wind was the leading renewable source in eight of these states, hydropower in four, and solar in two. Two high-renewable states, Maine and California, still have higher electricity prices due largely to infrastructure costs, wildfire liabilities, and investments following events such as the San Bruno pipeline explosion and the Aliso Canyon gas leak.

Together, these trends highlight how regions with strong wind or hydropower resources are increasingly able to generate large amounts of renewable electricity, sometimes exceeding their own demand.

Click here to view all fourteen states.

Click here to view the graph of WWS penetration versus electricity price.