Renewables are gaining ground in the US, according to reports by the US Energy Information Administration (EIA). The agency stated that electricity generated from renewable sources accounted for 20.45 percent of the country’s total output in the first three quarters of 2021.
Breaking the figures down, electricity from solar panels increased by 24.61 percent, while wind-generated electricity increased by almost 11 percent from January to September 2021. The two sources gained 15 percent combined and represented 12.59 percent of total electricity production.
Solar and wind now account for 61.55 percent of renewable electricity, with biomass, geothermal, and hydropower sources making up the rest.
Geothermal production increased too, although at a much lower 2.75 percent, while biomass managed only 1.71 percent.
Hydropower stands out as it actually experienced a reduction in production, at 12.7 percent, which is most likely due to worsening drought conditions. This loss in hydropower was not enough to stall the growth of renewable electricity as a whole, as the category recorded an increase of 3.26 percent, from 20.30 percent last year.
Renewable sources continue to lead nuclear electricity, which was at 18.47 percent. Natural gas was still in the first position but suffered a loss, coming down from 40.75 percent last to 37.57 percent. Coal sadly had a resurgence, bouncing back to second place with 22.60 percent.
However, trends from the last five years project increasing growth for renewable electricity and will gradually displace coal and nuclear stations.
Commenting on the figures, SUN DAY Campaign’s executive director, Ken Bossong, whose organization analyzed the data released by the EIA, said, “Inasmuch as they have maintained an overall faster rate of growth than any other energy sources over the past half-decade and longer, it seems safe to say that solar and wind will eventually become the nation’s primary electrical producers. They now have a growing lead over nuclear power; surpassed coal in 2020 and will likely do so again next year; and are rapidly cutting into natural gas’s current dominance.”
Renewable Brief 