Does your facility generate solar or wind power? If so, you are helping renewable energy to gain a foothold across the U.S.
Recently released by NREL, the 2013 Renewable Energy Data Book documents the growth of clean energy installations in the U.S. It found that renewable electricity, including hydropower and biopower, accounted for 13% of total electricity generation. Additional findings for 2013 include:
- Renewable electricity accounted for more than 61% of all new electricity capacity installations. By comparison, renewable electricity captured 4% of new capacity additions in 2004 and 57% in 2008.
- Solar electricity was the fastest growing generation technology, with cumulative installed capacity increasing by nearly 66% from 2012.
- Wind electricity generation increased 20% in 2013, while wind electricity capacity grew 1.8%.
- Biodiesel was the fastest growing biofuel type, with production increasing by 64% from a relatively small base.
By comparison, America’s overall energy consumption grew to 97.3 quadrillion BTU in 2013, a 2.4% increase from 2012. Its electric power demand grew to 38.4 quadrillion BTU in 2013, a 0.6% increase from 2012.
During this period, energy consumption from coal and renewables grew slightly, while consumption from petroleum and natural gas fell slightly.
