There is a general belief that replacing fossil fuels with renewable energy is a good idea. Most people, however, lack a clear understanding of how huge the amount of energy is that we currently use in the U.S. I use a familiar physics stratagem and express yearly Minnesota-wide energy consumption in natural units of renewable energy: wind turbines for electricity, biodigesters for natural gas, and gallons of ethanol for gallons of gasoline. The results show clearly the magnitude of the challenge we have of converting to renewable energy. This stratagem can easily be generalized to other states and/or regions.