Mapped: Carbon Offsets by U.S. State

Published

2 hours ago

on

February 28, 2026

| 2,553 views

-->

By

Ryan Bellefontaine

Graphics & Design

• Zack Aboulazm

• Twitter
• Facebook
• LinkedIn
• Reddit
• Pinterest
• Email

The following content is sponsored by National Public Utilities Council

Where Attacks Happen in Cyber Intrusions

Key Takeaways

• Florida led U.S. carbon offsets in 2025, ahead of California and Ohio by credits issued.
• Data center electricity use is rising quickly, and emissions could rise as a consequence.
• Utilities are pairing offsets with reliability planning as AI-driven electricity demand accelerates.

AI-driven data centers are driving up U.S. electricity demand, and utilities are being asked to add capacity faster than usual.

Consequently, carbon offsets are getting renewed attention as a near-term tool while long-lead infrastructure comes online.

This graphic, in partnership with the National Public Utilities Council, maps carbon offset credits issued across U.S. states in 2025 using data from UC Berkeley’s Voluntary Registry Offsets Database.

Carbon Offsets Across the U.S. in 2025

Here is a table showing carbon offset credits issued by state in 2025.

Offset credits are measured in metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (tCO₂e) and can represent verified reductions or removals from many different project types.

​​However, this dataset is limited to voluntary registry credits issued and doesn’t include all offset activity nationwide.

The Leaders for 2025

Florida leads with 7.20 million tCO₂e, followed by California (6.64 million) and Ohio (5.82 million).Texas (5.66 million) and West Virginia (5.23 million) round out the top five, while Hawaii, Idaho, Maryland, North Dakota, Rhode Island, and Nevada report zero.

Even though more projects generally correlate with more offsets, Florida ranked #1 in offsets with 41 projects, compared to 198 for California and 277 for Ohio.

These offset projects can range from forest management to agricultural methane capture to chemical processes such as refrigerant destruction.

For scale, 1 million tCO₂e is about what 16 million urban tree seedlings grown for 10 years can sequester in a year.

Utilities Respond to AI Load Growth

Data center electricity use is rising quickly, and AI is a key driver of that growth.

As AI drives energy demand higher, some utilities have launched customer-facing offset programs, including Illinois’ Nicor Gas with TotalGreen and Michigan-based DTE with CleanVision Natural Gas Balance.

These programs can help customers act now, while utilities continue building the long-term resource mix.

Meanwhile, natural gas is currently positioned as a near-term reliability bridge for data center-driven electricity demand growth.

At the same time, nuclear energy is being discussed as a potential firm, low-carbon solution for meeting future load.

Questions about carbon offset projects? Contact NPUC

Related Topics: #data centers #carbon offsets #florida #CO2 emissions #california #ai #map #electricity

You may also like

• Energy5 months ago

  Ranked: The Top 10 Cleanest Operating Utilities In The U.S.

  Just four U.S. utilities operate with over 80% carbon-free generation. This graphic ranks the top 10 cleanest utilities by their fuel mix.

• Energy1 year ago

  Visualized: Offshore Wind Installations by Region (2023–2033)

  This streamgraph shows projected offshore wind capacity by region, according to The Global Wind Energy Council.

• Energy1 year ago

  Ranked: The Largest Power Outages in the U.S. (2013–2023)

  Severe weather caused all ten of the largest U.S. power outages in the past decade, highlighting the importance of grid resiliency.

• Batteries1 year ago

  Visualized: Countries by Grid Storage Battery Capacity in 2023

  This treemap chart uses data from Statistical Review of World Energy to show the top 10 countries with the most battery storage capacity in 2023.

• Energy1 year ago

  Visualized: Which Countries Capture the Most Carbon?

  This voronoi depicts the countries that capture the most carbon globally in 2023, with data from Rystad Energy.

• Energy2 years ago

  Ranked: Energy Transition Scores by Country in 2024

  This bar chart shows the countries’ highest and lowest energy transition index scores determined by the World Economic Forum.

• Energy2 years ago

  Ranked: America’s Cheapest Sources of Electricity in 2024

  This dumbbell plot shows the most and least expensive sources of energy in the U.S., using data from Lazard.

• Energy2 years ago

  Visualized: Emission Reduction Targets by Country in 2024

  This infographic shows the greenhouse gas emissions targets of all countries and their target years with data from Net Zero Tracker.

• Green2 years ago

  Visualized: The Price of Carbon Around the World in 2024

  This bar chart shows the varying prices of carbon across different economies around the globe, using data from the World Bank.

• Energy2 years ago

  Visualized: Renewable Energy Capacity Through Time (2000–2023)

  This streamgraph shows the growth in renewable energy capacity by country and region since 2000.

• Environment2 years ago

  The Rise in America’s Billion-Dollar Extreme Weather Disasters

  From tropical cyclones to severe storms, the number of extreme weather disasters with losses exceeding $1 billion has climbed over time.

• Environment2 years ago

  The Most Polluted Cities in the U.S.

  What are the most polluted cities in the U.S. according to data from the American Lung Association’s 2024 State of the Air Report?

• Energy4 years ago

  Visualizing U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions by Sector

  The U.S. emits about 6 billion metric tons of greenhouse gases a year. Here’s how these emissions rank by sector.

• Sponsored4 years ago

  Road to Decarbonization: The United States Electricity Mix

  Can America become carbon-free by 2035? This graphic breaks down the United States’ electricity mix, by state.

• Sponsored5 years ago

  Road to Decarbonization: U.S. Coal Plant Closures

  This infographic highlights announced coal plant closures in the U.S. and how much power will be affected.

Subscribe

Please enable JavaScript in your browser to complete this form.Join 375,000+ email subscribers: *Sign Up