Colorado’s wind and solar installations now supply 44 percent of the state’s electricity, according to a newly released state-by-state analysis of renewable energy production — a sharp climb from just 19 percent in 2016 and a figure that places the state near the top of the national rankings.
The findings were published by CoPIRG and Environment Colorado in a report titled “State of Renewable Energy,” which includes an interactive dashboard allowing users to compare renewable production figures across all 50 states.
Where Colorado Stands Nationally
Colorado ranks sixth in the country for wind energy generation, a notable position given that traditional wind belt states like Iowa and Kansas historically dominate those rankings. Colorado also places tenth nationally for solar energy production and tenth for installed battery storage capacity paired with renewable generation — a metric that has grown in policy importance as grid operators work to manage the intermittency of wind and solar power.
The report draws comparisons between Colorado and several peer states, including Minnesota, Oregon, and Washington. Washington state, for example, outpaces Colorado in electric vehicle adoption, a gap the report attributes in part to EV charging port infrastructure, which tends to track closely with vehicle registration patterns. The EV registration data in the report dates from 2024.
On battery storage, Colorado leads both Kansas and Iowa despite those states’ stronger wind energy output — a reflection of Colorado’s more recent infrastructure investment in grid-scale storage systems. Utah, by contrast, faces less favorable geography for wind development, limiting its comparable output in that category.
A Decade of Acceleration
The jump from 19 percent to 44 percent renewable generation over roughly nine years represents one of the more substantial energy transitions among states outside the Pacific Northwest, which benefits from large-scale hydroelectric capacity. Colorado’s growth has been driven primarily by wind and solar buildout, consistent with utility-scale investment trends across the Mountain West.
That expansion has not been without complexity. Xcel Energy, Colorado’s dominant utility, has proposed a tiered rate structure for data centers as electricity demand from large commercial and industrial users grows alongside residential renewable integration — a tension regulators are being asked to manage more actively.
Colorado is also navigating longer-term questions about grid reliability and energy density. The state holds roughly 33,000 pounds of stored nuclear waste outside Denver, and policymakers have begun discussing whether new reactor technology could complement renewable generation as baseload demand increases.
What’s Next
The CoPIRG and Environment Colorado report is positioned as an ongoing benchmarking tool, with the interactive dashboard intended to update as new state-level generation data becomes available. Colorado officials and utility regulators are expected to cite the findings in ongoing proceedings around grid planning, storage procurement, and water resource management — the latter carrying growing urgency as drought conditions affect river flows that support hydroelectric supplementation in the region.
With Colorado now holding top-ten national positions across wind, solar, and battery storage categories simultaneously, the state’s renewable profile has become a reference point in policy discussions extending beyond its borders.