About this Project

Renewable Energy Nationwide was designed to show the enormous potential for new energy systems that reduce global warming emissions, protect critical environmental values and move the United States toward energy independence. Global warming occurs when excess heat-trapping gases accumulate in the earth's atmosphere as a result of fossil-fuel burning and certain land use activities such as deforestation. Climate change threatens all of us with more unpredictable weather, stronger storms, more pests and diseases, and longer and more intense droughts. Wildlife and wild places are also threatened. And reliance on foreign oil puts us at the mercy of political affairs and currency exchange rates.

Fortunately, local action can make a difference. Each technology featured here can contribute to better air quality, reduce our reliance on fossil fuels, add good jobs to the economy and, when properly sited, protect environmental values such as habitat and water quality. When these technologies are combined to use the by-products of one system as the input for another, the economic and environmental benefits are even greater. Working together, farmers, investors and policymakers can forge these connections to help build a sustainable future for America and the planet Earth as a whole.

Our State Profiles

NRDC chose the states spotlighted here because they have shown significant promise in developing renewable energy infrastructure. We will add additional state profiles over time.

Renewable Energy Meets Wildland and Wildlife Conservation

Certain sensitive lands -- such as parks, monuments and wildlife conservation areas -- and ecologically sensitive marine areas are not appropriate for energy development. In some of these places, energy development is prohibited or limited by law or policy, and in others it would be highly controversial. NRDC does not endorse locating energy facilities or transmission lines in such areas. Siting decisions must always be made extremely carefully, with impacts mitigated and operations conducted in an environmentally responsible manner.

For more information on the intersection between clean energy development and wildland and wildlife conservation in the American West, including locations of parks, wildlife refuges and other conservation areas, see this Google Earth-based feature.