RENEWABLE SOURCES PROVIDE 92% OF NEW CAPACITY
FOR FIRST TWO MONTHS OF 2014
For the first two months of 2014, renewable energy sources (i.e., biomass, geothermal, solar, water, wind) accounted for 91.9% of the 568 MW of new domestic electrical generating installed. Coal, oil, and nuclear provided none while natural gas and 1 MW of “other” provided the balance.
Renewable energy sources, including hydropower, now account for 16.14% of total installed U.S. operating generating capacity: water – 8.45%, wind – 5.26%, biomass – 1.37%, solar – 0.73%, and geothermal steam – 0.33%. This is more than nuclear (9.26%) and oil (4.05%) combined. *
“Another month dominated by renewables!” concluded Ken Bossong, Executive Director of the SUN DAY Campaign. “Only flat-earthers and climate-deniers can continue to question the fact that the age of renewable energy is now here.”
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The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission released its most recent 5-page “Energy Infrastructure Update,” with data through February 28, 2014, on March 20, 2014. See the tables titled “New Generation In-Service (New Build and Expansion)” and “Total Installed Operating Generating Capacity” at http://www.ferc.gov/legal/staff-reports/2014/feb-infrastructure.pdf .
* Note that generating capacity is not the same as actual generation. Actual net electrical generation from renewable energy sources in the United States now totals about 13% according to the most recent data (i.e., as of December 2013) provided by the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
