New Energy Winning The Market

Solar Triples & Wind Grows 65.2% Over Past Five Years; They Now Provide One-Eighth of U.S. Electricity

Ken Bossong, November 30, 2021 (Sun Day)

“…Driven by strong solar and wind power growth, electrical generation by renewable energy sources (i.e., also including biomass, geothermal, hydropower) accounted for 20.45% of total U.S. production during the first three-quarters of 2021…[S]olar (including distributed rooftop systems) and wind increased by 24.61% and 10.89% respectively compared to the same nine-month period in 2020. Combined, they grew by 15.00% and accounted for more than one-eighth (12.59%) of U.S. electrical generation (wind - 8.50%, solar - 4.09%)…

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…[G]eothermal posted a gain of 2.75% while electricity generated by wood + other biomass increased by 1.71%. Combined, all non-hydro renewables grew by 12.8%...Reflecting worsening drought conditions, though, hydropower fell by 12.47%...[A]ll renewables combined - including hydropower - produced 4.05% more electricity than a year earlier…[Renewable sources provided] 10.72% more electricity than the nation's atomic power plants (18.47% of the total).

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Natural gas remained as the top source of U.S. electrical generation with a 37.57% share but down from 40.75% a year ago. Coal rebounded into second place (with a 22.60% share), growing 25.31% compared to the first three-quarters of 2020…Longer-term trends, though, still suggest the gradual and probably accelerating displacement of coal and nuclear power by renewable energy sources…[Renewables' share of total electrical generation has grown since 2016] from 15.10% to 20.45% with wind expanding by 65.23% and solar increasing three-fold…” click here for more

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