New Hampshire, the Granite State, is home to just 1.4 million people and covers fewer than 9 thousand square miles. Of the 50 U.S. states, New Hampshire is the 44th largest by land area and the tenth-least populous, with a population of 1,377,529 residents as of the 2020 census. New Hampshire became the first of the colonies to create a constitution and declare independence from Britain. It rests on land native to the Abenaki and Pennacook tribes, displaced during colonization beginning in the 1600s.
CLIMATE IMPACTS
- Summers in New Hampshire are becoming hotter and muggier and extreme heat days are expected to quadruple by 2050 — from 10 to more than 40 days per year. Overall temperatures in New Hampshire have risen more than 3 degrees (F)over the past century.
- One consequence of hotter temperatures is the increase in the severity of storms. Since 1958, precipitation in New Hampshire from heavy storms has increased by 70%.
- Since 2005, precipitation has averaged 6.8 inches more than the 1895-2004 average, and the highest number of extreme precipitation events occurred from 2005-2014. Average precipitation in New Hampshire is likely to continue increasing in winter and spring but remain relatively consistent through summer and fall.
- As snow melts earlier and water evaporates more quickly, soil will be left drier by summer and fall. New Hampshire ranks fourth nationally in terms of state ski revenue per capita, but that industry is threatened as winters warm. Across the country, ski areas are facing a decline in the length of the season by as much as50% by 2050.
- Officially, New Hampshire has a little more than 18 miles of Atlantic coastline, a small strip between Massachusetts’s and Maine’s more well-known coasts. However, the Department of Environmental Services recognizes 235 miles, which includes estuarine shoreline. Estuaries feed into wetlands, which are an important natural defense against coastal flooding. Humans have been filling wetlands for development since the 1800s, and as climate change promises sea level rise, especially along the Atlantic where the coastline is sinking, these New Hampshire residents are becoming increasingly vulnerable. 5,000 people live at risk of coastal flooding in New Hampshire today and that number is expected to increase to 7,000 by 2050.
ENERGY
New Hampshire’s rugged and varied terrain offers plentiful natural resources to the state, including some of the highest winds ever recorded, and New Hampshire was the site of the nation’s first attempt at a commercial wind farm.
- Nuclear energy provides the largest share of New Hampshire’s electricity generation, providing56% in 2023.
- Natural gas generated 25% of the state’s electricity in 2023.
- Renewables provided 18%, mostly from hydroelectric and biomass. A quarter of New England’s hydroelectric capacity is found in New Hampshire and hydropower accounted for 9% of the state’s total electricity generation in 2023. Biomass was 5%, and wind and solar were both about 2%.
- In 2023, petroleum and coal both accounted for less than 1% of the state’s electricity generation. The state is home to the two remaining coal-fired power plants in all of New England, but both are scheduled for retirement in 2025 and 2028 and coal has dropped to less than 1% from 25% in 2001.
LEGISLATION
New Hampshire’s leadership has taken decisive steps towards confronting challenges presented by climate change.
- New Hampshire’s Renewable Portfolio Standard was passed in 2007 and originally called for 4% of electricity sold to retail electric customers to be generated by renewables. As of 2024, the RPS now calls for 25.2% by 2025.
- The state’s Climate Action Plan was finalized in 2009, which provided wide-ranging recommendations including a call for the creation of a separate adaptation plan and the initiation of an interdisciplinary Energy and Climate Collaborative. A number of legislative efforts have continued to build on this plan, including a 2016 mandate for the Department of Environmental Services to update and summarize coastal flooding trends.
- Christopher Sununu, who served as governor of New Hampshire from 2017-2025, favored a market-driven “technology-neutral” energy policy, meaning laws would not favor any particular energy source, including renewables. Sununu vetoed multiple proposals to expand net-metering, and in July 2024 vetoed a bill that would have established a state environmental adaptation, resilience and innovation council. While the current governor Kelly Ayotte has expressed her alignment with Sununu’s policy, she was also the first Senate Republican to support an Obama-era emissions reduction plan.
- New Hampshire remains the only state in New England without any legislation targeting emissions reduction.
- In March 2024, New Hampshire released its Priority Climate Action Plan(PCAP) under the EPA’s Climate Pollution Reduction Grants program. The PCAP is the first update to the 2009 Climate Action Plan and features a GHG emissions inventory, reduction measures and implementations, and a low-income/disadvantaged communities benefits analysis. New Hampshire will release a Comprehensive Climate Action Plan in 2025 under phase 2 of the EPA’s program.
COLLABORATION WITH OTHER STATES
New Hampshire is the only state in New England that is not a member of the U.S. Climate Alliance. Since 2008, New Hampshire has been a member of the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, a cooperative of 11 states to cap and reduce carbon dioxide emissions. The RGGI is the first cap-and-invest regional initiative in the nation.
PLANS TO ACCELERATE RENEWABLES
09/05/25
As energy demand climbs in New Hampshire, business leaders are weighing the role of solar in its long-term strategy. Despite shifting policies and regulatory headwinds, behind-the-meter solar remains one of the most cost-effective and quickly…
09/02/25
A new state law set to take effect late this month marks the end of New Hampshire’s flirtation with offshore wind — at least for now.
08/15/25
New Hampshire’s Office of Offshore Wind Industry Development and Energy Innovation is losing a few words from its title. Now, it’s simply called the Office of Energy Innovation.
08/13/25
Starting Jan. 1, New Hampshire will place a $3.50 per ton surcharge on all solid waste taken at any of the state’s six active landfills or its waste-to-energy facility.
08/11/25
A new state law signed earlier this month by Gov. Kelly Ayotte allows for off-grid energy providers in New Hampshire, part of a larger Republican-backed effort to make the state more attractive to the cryptocurrency…
07/30/25
With sweltering heat pushing temperatures into the 90s this week, Granite Staters are feeling the impact of summer weather the moment they step outside—and soon, when they open their mailboxes.
07/23/25
New Hampshire’s new state budget redirects an estimated $15 million from a dedicated renewable energy fund into the general fund, likely signaling the end of plans to expand a popular pilot supporting municipal solar developments.
06/18/25
Unitil’s new solar array in Kingston is the first to be owned and operated by a regulated distribution utility in New Hampshire.
05/19/25
House Bill 2, a sprawling budget bill working its way through the New Hampshire Legislature, includes under-the-radar provisions that could gut an important state renewable energy program.
03/02/24
For centuries, monetary value in forested land was realized through timber harvests. Today, climate change introduces a new economic player: carbon credits, turning forests into valuable carbon sequestration assets. This shift is causing a stir…
02/29/24
Unitil has begun site work on New Hampshire’s first regulated utility-owned solar array located on 36 acres of vacant land in Kingston.
02/16/24
For those people with rooftop solar panels, sun-generated electrons help power their lights, refrigerator and everything else that requires electricity. If they don’t use all that they’ve generated, the excess power goes into the electric…
02/11/24
Right now, different energies such as nuclear, natural gas, hydro, biomass, wind, coal, solar and others are what is used to power the Granite State.
02/05/24
Member towns in New Hampshire’s year-old Community Power Coalition are reaping the benefits of banding together to buy electricity on their own.
01/31/24
Competing visions for New Hampshire’s energy future were the centerpiece of several legislative hearings in Concord this week.
01/25/24
New Hampshire’s energy department is preparing to road-test a grant program meant to help disadvantaged cities and towns access the environmental and financial benefits of solar power.
01/08/24
New Hampshire lawmakers will spend the next several months vetting and voting on more than 1,000 bills, many of which could impact the state’s course on climate change, the environment, and energy policy.
12/28/23
After a year marked by wildfire smoke, intense rainfall and a warmer than normal fall and start to winter, climate change is affecting the way Granite Staters live.
11/28/23
The U.S. Department of Agriculture is investing millions of dollars into clean energy and food production in Vermont, New Hampshire and across the country
11/24/23
An upcoming legislative proposal to define New Hampshire’s Seabrook nuclear station as clean energy risks undermining solar and wind in a state that is already falling behind other jurisdictions in renewable energy development, local climate…
11/21/23
New Hampshire is in the process of updating its climate action plan for the first time since 2009, and opportunities for Granite Staters to engage with the process are coming up.
06/12/23
Sullivan County Commissioners gave County Manager Derek Ferland the go-ahead on Tuesday to negotiate a contract with a solar energy project that could lower the electric bill at the county complex in Unity.
05/04/23
Five years after Northern Pass was rejected by the state, another proposal is on the books to bring Quebec hydropower through New Hampshire but this time along a different route – passing through Dunbarton instead…
05/03/23
Gov. Chris Sununu expressed his support today for a proposed electric transmission project that could bring hydropower from Canada into New England through Vermont and New Hampshire.
04/19/23
Keene was one of the first cities in New Hampshire to adopt commitments to 100% clean energy, in 2019. But then came the challenge of following through.
03/16/23
Utilities and fossil fuels did well Thursday in the House while renewable energy and preventing climate change did not.
03/14/23
Community power was made possible under a 2019 change in state law that allows municipalities to buy electricity for their residents instead of traditional utility companies, giving customers another option for prices and other services.
03/10/23
On full display at the State House this week was the persisting staunch divide between Republicans and Democrats on matters of climate change and energy – in a state that remains the only one in…
03/08/23
Decisions regarding the permitting of new energy facilities could change hands in New Hampshire if lawmakers choose to dissolve the state’s current process and move responsibilities to the Public Utilities Commission.
03/06/23
This year, voters in several towns have the option to adopt the concept of community power, which is aimed at pooling customers’ collective buying power to negotiate the best available electricity rates while also giving…
03/01/23
The anticipated development of wind power off New Hampshire’s coastline will require a workforce likely numbering in the thousands.
02/27/23
More Granite Staters are expected to get their electricity from renewable energy sources this spring, as so-called "community power" programs continue to expand.
02/24/23
As the cost of energy remains higher than ever for many Granite Staters, state lawmakers are considering a variety of efforts to ease the burden on ratepayers.
02/24/23
Democrats briefly gained a majority in the New Hampshire House Thursday and passed a handful of bills – the latest example of the precarious control over the chamber this session.
02/09/23
Green hydrogen, renewable natural gas, activated carbon: These are some of the new technologies that are being looked into in New Hampshire in an effort to save money on energy, increase self-reliance on home-grown renewable…
06/04/21
Keene’s community power plan, a key part of the city’s goal to reach 100 percent renewable electricity by 2030, will head to the City Council next month after receiving a unanimous recommendation from a committee…
03/20/19
This page provides an overview of the steps New Hampshire is taking to prepare for the impacts of climate change.
03/20/19
Over the course of a year, through a process that engaged over 125 stakeholders and received input from over 200 citizens, the 29 members of Governor John Lynch’s Climate Change Policy Task Force developed this…
03/01/25
New Hampshire is located on the eastern margin of the North American continent. Its northerly latitude and geographic location expose the state to both the moderating and moistening influence of the Atlantic Ocean and the…
03/01/24
The New Hampshire Priority Climate Action Plan (PCAP) was developed by the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services (NHDES) utilizing a planning grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The goal of the PCAP…
10/30/23
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) today announced Twin States Clean Energy Link, National Grid’s proposed transmission project to support New England’s climate, clean energy, and energy security goals, has been selected as one of…
10/10/21
New Hampshire is one of the smallest states in the nation, but its landscapes range from ocean beaches to rugged mountains, and its mountains, rivers, and forests hold plentiful renewable energy resources. The state is…
09/10/21
The searchable Energy Storage Legislation Database displays information in interactive maps and charts, tracking state activity from 2017 to the present.
10/06/20
The First Street Foundation Flood Model represents the culmination of decades of research and development made possible by building upon existing knowledge and frameworks regularly referenced in the identification of flood risk.
09/19/20
Between 2017 and 2019, New Hampshire experienced one winter storm. The damages of the event led to losses of at least $1 billion.
07/31/20
New Hampshire is vulnerable to increasing temperatures, floods and droughts, and a shorter winter. New Hampshire’s climate has already warmed by two or three degrees Fahrenheit in the last century. Increasing temperatures are causing spring…
02/27/20
Learn about renewable energy options, identify possibilities for your community, and implement a project to generate clean energy while also saving money.
02/27/20
The Sustainable Energy Division was created in 2008 to assist the Commission in implementing specific state legislative initiatives focused on promoting renewable energy and energy efficiency and to advance the goals of energy sustainability, affordability…
02/27/20
Information from the New Hampshire Public Utilities Commission on the state's progress on renewable energy.
02/27/20
A list of programs available to New Hampshire residents who have installed or are interested in installing a renewable energy system for their home or small business.
11/01/16
The final report of the New Hampshire Coastal Risks and Hazards Commission details the growing climate risks from sea-level rise, flooding, storm surge, and extreme weather in coastal New Hampshire. The Commission also recommends policy…
