The role renewable energy plays in U.S. power consumption continues to grow, accounting for 9.8% of energy used in 2014. This is the biggest role renewables have played in the nation’s power supply since the 1930s.
According to data released by the EIA, increasing adoption rates for wind, solar, and biofuels have helped the share of renewable use grow by an average of 5% per year between 2001-2014. Wind grew from 70 trillion Btu in 2001 to 1,700 trillion in 2014 and solar (thermal and photovoltaic) generation increased from 64 trillion Btu to 427 trillion.
The EIA notes that the increasing prevalance of solar installations is the main contributor to growing renewable energy consumption in facilities. Wood gasification is the second-largest source for renewable energy and the pellet demand for biomass increased from 253 trillion BTU in 2001 to 2,068 trillion BTU in 2014. While hydroelectricity was the largest source of renewable power generation in 2014, the EIA notes that its prominence has dropped since the 1990s.
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