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WASHINGTON, DC, US, November 23, 2005 (Refocus
Weekly)
Only two states in the United States have net
generating capacity from solar PV, and four have geothermal,
according to federal energy data.
California had 390 MW of solar capacity in 2003, while Arizona
had 7 MW, says ‘Renewable Energy Trends' from the Department of
Energy’s Energy Information Administration. California was also the
national leader for geothermal electricity at 1,896 MW, followed by
Nevada with 172 MW, and Utah and Hawaii with 33 MW each.
All forms of biomass, including wood, wood waste, municipal solid
waste and landfill gas, combined to provide 4,896 MW of net green
power, while wind contributed 5,995 MW. Turbines were noted in 25
states, led by California with 1,910 MW and Texas with 1,286 MW,
well ahead of third-place Iowa with 460 MW. Two states, Alaska and
Michigan, each reported 1 MW of wind turbines in 2003.
Conventional hydroelectricity (the US does not include
pumped-storage hydro as green power) was the overwhelming source of
renewable energy electricity at 77,886 MW, representing 85% of the
total 91,308 MW of net green capacity.
In terms of net power output, the U.S. generated 363,216,799 MWh of
green power in 2003, of which 76% came from conventional hydro.
Solar PV accounted for 534,001 MWh, wind for 11,187,466 and
geothermal for 14,424,231 MWh during that year.
Total green power output in 2004 was down slightly to 358,766,924
MWh, but DOE notes the data are preliminary are does not provide
analysis. Of the total, hydroelectric remains the largest source at
269,636,745 MWh, while geothermal at 14,355,859 MWh edges out wind
at 14,153,100 MWh. Solar PV was estimated at 579,048 MWh for the
year.
In percentage ranking, Maine had the highest share of non-hydro
green power capacity at 20.6% of its 18,971,635 MW of total
generation. If hydro is considered, the share is 37.3% but that is
behind the 85.3% of green power in Idaho when hydro is included.
Without hydro, California is second at 12.3% while Vermont is third
at 6.7%, all ahead of the national average of 2.3% of electricity
from non-hydro green facilities (and 9.4% when hydro is included).
Delaware and the District of Columbia are both below 0.5%.
As of August of 2005, 22 states had a Renewable Portfolio Standard
or state mandate to require green power, although the RPS in
Colorado and Florida are not state-wide and in some states, such as
Illinois, they are voluntary.
Renewable energy consumption in 2004 was 6.117 quadrillion Btu, the
report notes, down from 6.133 quads in 1990. Hydroelectricity has
dropped from 3.046 to 2.725 quads over the 14 years, while
geothermal has increased from 0.336 to 0.340 quads, solar PV from
0.060 to 0.063 quads, and wind from 0.029 to 0.143 quads.
While total U.S. power generation increased by 2% in 2004 to 3,953
billion kWh, green power across the country decreased 1% to 359
b-kWh due to reductions in hydropower and biomass energy. Wind power
increased by 27%, but it still accounted for only 0.36% of the
national total. Electric power sector generation, including
utilities and independent power producers, dominated production.
Preliminary estimates indicate there was a slight increase in
capacity in 2004, which problem would have been greater if the
Production Tax Credit had not expired in 2003. During much of last
year, the fate of the PTC was uncertain before it was renewed
retrospectively in October as part of Public Law 108-311. “Early
projections for 2005 were for rapid growth in wind to resume again
until the next tax credit expiration date (December 2005),” the
report notes.
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