Hydropower Downturn Masks RE Growth in 2004

 

September 22, 2005

RenewableEnergyAccess.com] The U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) tracked down some interesting information this week on the growth in renewable energy resources. The U.S. use of renewable energy grew by only 1 percent in 2004, according to a report released in August by DOE's Energy Information Administration (EIA). Why so little? The EIA's report includes power produced from conventional hydropower, which dropped by 3.5 percent in 2004. Excluding hydropower, renewable energy production increased by 4 percent, including a 3.8 percent growth in biomass energy and a 24 percent growth in wind energy, according to EIA's preliminary data. The rapid growth in wind energy was matched by only one other renewable energy source: ethanol, which is growing quickly as use of the fuel additive MTBE is declining. Unfortunately, the available data for some energy resources, such as solar power, are lacking. The EIA data for 2003 only lists solar power production in two states: California and Arizona. Download "Renewable Energy Trends 2004" in PDF format at the following link.