The newest US EIA and FERC knowledge replicate a decade of explosive photo voltaic and wind progress – right here’s the way it breaks down.
The SUN DAY Marketing campaign reviewed EIA’s newest month-to-month “Electrical Energy Month-to-month” report (with electrical era knowledge by means of June 30, 2024) and in contrast it to EIA’s knowledge for June 30, 2019 and for June 30, 2014. It additionally examined FERC’s newest month-to-month “Vitality Infrastructure Replace” report (with put in producing capability knowledge by means of June 30, 2024) and likewise in contrast it to FERC’s knowledge for June 30, 2019 and for June 30, 2014.
The put in US producing capability mixture of all renewable vitality sources (i.e., biomass, geothermal, hydropower, photo voltaic, and wind) now totals 389 gigawatts (GW). That’s over 50% better than 5 years in the past (258.58 GW) and greater than double the renewable vitality capability that existed a decade in the past (190.26 GW). A lot of the progress is due to new photo voltaic and wind capability.
Equally, electrical era by renewables has proven sturdy progress. Ten years in the past, renewables offered 14.28% of the nation’s electrical era. 5 years later, it had grown to twenty.11% and at present stands at 26.01%. Once more, many of the enhance is because of wind and photo voltaic.
For the primary half of 2024, renewables, together with small-scale photo voltaic, offered 549,339 gigawatt-hours (GWh) {of electrical} era. That’s nearly 40% greater than the quantity renewables generated within the first half of 2019 (399,586 GWh) and practically double the output reported for the primary half of 2014 (287,136 GWh).
Over the previous decade, wind has turn into a frontrunner
Ten years in the past, hydropower boasted about 62% extra capability than wind (99.64 GW vs. 61.45 GW) and generated 40% extra electrical energy (140,659 GWh vs. 99,739 GWh).
5 years later, the 2 had been practically equal in each capability (hydro: 100.73 GW vs. wind: 98.86 GW) and electrical era (hydro: 153,790 GWh vs. wind: 154,338 GWh).
Now, nevertheless, wind has definitively overtaken hydropower with 152.64 GW of put in capability in comparison with that of hydro (100.88 GW) in addition to 247,435 GWh of precise electrical output throughout the first six months of 2024 in comparison with 126,139 GWh from hydro.
As of mid-2024, wind accounted for 11.72% of complete US electrical era. 5 years prior, it was 7.77%, and a decade in the past, its share (4.96%) was lower than half of at present’s determine.
Wind’s share of complete put in producing capability as of June 30, 2024, was 11.75% – a big enhance from its 8.25% share 5 years earlier and 5.26% a decade in the past.
Photo voltaic is the fastest-growing supply of latest capability and era
Previously decade, photo voltaic has ballooned from a fraction of a p.c of each capability and era to turn into the second-largest renewable in each classes.
On the finish of June 2014, utility-scale photo voltaic offered a mere 9.25 GW (0.75%) of complete put in US producing capability. Technology by utility-scale photo voltaic (8,535 GWh) was solely 0.42% of the US complete and EIA wasn’t even reporting era by distributed, small-scale (i.e., <1 MW) techniques but.
Nevertheless, 5 years later, photo voltaic capability (39.13 GW) accounted for 3.27% of complete utility-scale capability. Precise era by utility-scale amenities within the first half of 2019 had risen greater than fourfold to 36,042 GWh (1.81% of the overall) with small-scale photo voltaic contributing an extra 17,520 GWh (0.88%).
By the center of 2024, put in photo voltaic capability had risen to eight.99% of complete utility-scale capability. Utility-scale techniques generated 102,614 GWh (4.86%) and small-scale techniques added one other 42,449 GWh (2.01%).
This charge of photo voltaic and wind progress has defied expectations. Three years in the past, FERC had projected that put in utility-scale photo voltaic capability would attain 105.04 GW by mid-year 2024. Photo voltaic’s precise capability at present is 11.2% greater than FERC’s earlier forecast. As well as, wind’s put in capability is now 2.4% increased than FERC had anticipated.
Hydropower and geothermal ebbs and flows, biomass drops
Over the previous decade, the put in capability of hydropower has edged up very slowly from 99.64 GW in June 2014 to 100.73 GW 5 years later and 100.88 GW at present. As a result of the put in capability of all vitality sources mixed has grown by over 8% throughout the previous 10 years, hydropower’s share of capability has regularly declined from 8.57% in 2014 to eight.41% in 2019, to 7.77% in 2024.
Electrical era by US hydropower amenities has ebbed and flowed from yr to yr. For instance, it was 140,65 GWh within the first half of 2014 (7% of the overall) after which 153,790 GWh in mid-2019 (7.74%) and is now 126,139 GWh (5.97%) for the primary six months of 2024.
Electrical era by biomass, in addition to its share of put in producing capability, has been on a sluggish decline for the previous 10 years. FERC knowledge point out that utility-scale biomass capability dropped from 16.05 GW (1.37% of the overall) in mid-2014 to 16.02 GW (1.34%) in mid-2019 to 14.54 GW (1.12%) in mid-2024. Correspondingly, precise electrical era fell from 30,095 GWh (1.50%) throughout the first half of 2014 to 29,520 GWh (1.49%) 5 years later after which to 23,062 GWh (1.09%) this yr.
The smallest renewable vitality supply – geothermal – has proven a sample much like that of hydropower. Its put in capability has risen barely from 3.87 GW in 2014 to 4.14 GW at present, whereas its share of the US complete has persistently hovered round 0.32-0.33%. Precise era has ebbed and flowed over the previous decade offering 8,108 GWh (0.40%) within the first six months of 2014, then 8,376 GWh (0.42%) within the first half of 2019, and now 7,640 GWh (0.36%).
“However minimal adjustments within the contributions by hydropower, biomass, and geothermal, renewable vitality sources have doubled their share of US producing capability and electrical output over the previous 10 years due to explosive progress by each wind and photo voltaic,” famous the SUN DAY Marketing campaign’s government director Ken Bossong. “If the developments of the previous decade proceed, renewable vitality sources might account for 40% or extra of capability and precise era by 2035.”
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