Renewable energy continues to gain momentum as costs continue to fall due to wind and solar projects becoming more efficient and the rising number of financing mechanisms. More and more states, including Minnesota and Wisconsin are now aiming for a 100% carbon-free future, while a number of Illinois lawmakers are also pushing for 100% renewable energy.

Much of these encouraging changes are due to several state-level clean energy initiatives. Since 2017, Maryland, Montana, and New Hampshire have all enacted legislation “to study the costs and benefits of their Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) policies.” More than half of states have already established their renewable energy targets. In Maryland, the Clean Energy Jobs Act moves forward, with tremendous support from industry leaders and community members alike.

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz recently announced “a set of policy proposals designed to lead his state’s electricity sector to 100% clean energy by 2050.” In a statement, he said, “Climate change is an existential threat. We must take immediate action. If Washington won’t lead, Minnesota will.”

This is without precedent. In 2018, renewable energy generated 17.6% of electricity in 2018, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. A record of 742 million megawatt-hours of electricity in 2018 came from renewable sources (including wind energy and concentrated solar power). Nearly 90% of the increase in U.S. renewable electricity between 2008 and 2018 came from wind power and solar energy. In particular, “wind turbines generation increased to 275 million megawatt-hours in 2018, from 55 million megawatt-hours in 2008, and accounted for 6.5% of total electricity generation.”

Another factor is the dropping cost of photovoltaic panels and turbines, which decreased between 41 percent and 94 percent since 2008, according to the U.S. Department of Energy. Along with solar and wind power, natural gas use–which rose by 1 percent in 2016–also contributed to coal’s declining use, according to A.J. Simon, the group leader for the Atmosphere, Earth and Energy division of Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.

According to a report by U.S. News, the top 10 states that are leading the country to renewable energy future are Nebraska (19 percent), New Hamphire (19 percent), Vermont (25 percent), Idaho (27 percent), Iowa (28 percent), Montana (31 percent), South Dakota (35 percent), Maine (36 percent), Washington (44 percent), and Oregon (45 percent).