BETHLEHEM, Pa. — Pennsylvania still lags behind the rest of the United States when it comes to renewable energy, according to new data.

The commonwealth ranked 49th in the nation for percentage growth in total solar, wind and geothermal generation over the past decade, according to PennEnvironment Research & Policy Center’s State of Renewable Energy 2025, released May 7.

The report, formerly known as “Renewables on the Rise,” tracks growth to rank every state and the District of Columbia for the production of wind energy, solar power, energy storage and other metrics over the past decade.

“Pennsylvania continues to miss out on the renewable energy growth happening nationwide, but it doesn’t have to be that way,” Ellie Kerns, a climate and clean energy advocate with PennEnvironment, said in a news release.

“The Keystone State has vast renewable energy potential. State legislators can make sure we tap it by passing Gov. [Josh] Shapiro’s energy plan, referred to as the ‘Lightning Plan.’”

Shapiro’s plan, unveiled in January, includes creating a board to speed up the permitting process for energy projects and revamping existing tax credit programs, among other initiatives.

Over the past three years, the commonwealth has ranked near the bottom of the report. Last year, Pennsylvania ranked 48th, up from 50th the year before.

And, as in previous years, specific data for the Lehigh Valley was unavailable; data comes from the Department of Energy, which only looks at state-level renewables.

While Pennsylvania ranked lowest in energy savings, the state fell into the middle of the ranking, or even higher, in other categories.

The commonwealth ranked 49th in growth of energy savings, 21st in battery storage capacity, 29th in wind generation and 26th in solar generation, according to the report.

The state ranked 14th in electric vehicle registrations and 10th in electric vehicle charging ports.

“Pennsylvania’s rate of growth in clean energy adoption has fallen well behind the national pace, with only Washington State and Alaska ranking lower,” according to the release.

“The amount of renewable energy brought online in the state since 2015 would power fewer than 4% of the homes in Pennsylvania.”

Screenshot

/

PennEnvironment’s State of Renewable Energy 2025

However, there are some positive signs, according to PennEnvironment. Last year, the commonwealth installed more than twice as much solar than any previous year.

“Solar in Pennsylvania now produces enough electricity to power approximately 200,000 homes,” according to the release.

“At the same time, Pennsylvania generates almost four times the amount of energy from the sun compared to five years ago in 2019, putting it in the middle of the pack (26th) behind neighboring states like New York (9th), New Jersey (13th), Maryland (23rd) and even Ohio (16th).”

The report “offers a timely reminder” of the opportunities for clean energy across the state, Kerns said.

“Pennsylvanians are already reaping the benefits of the progress we’ve made so far, and there is so much more we can do to usher in the clean, renewable energy future we need, starting with passing Gov. [Josh] Shapiro’s recently unveiled energy plan,” Kerns said.