WASHINGTON, DC, USA, August 29, 2007.
Consumption of wind energy in the United States rose 45% last year, compared with 6.5% for solar PV and 1.8% for geothermal.
Preliminary data from the Department of Energy indicates that total consumption of renewables increased 6.9% between 2005 and 2006. In contrast, total U.S. energy consumption declined 1% due to decreased consumption of fossil fuels (including decreased natural gas consumption in the residential sector and decreased coal and petroleum consumption in the electric power sector).
Total consumption in the U.S. was 6.8 quadrillion Btu, of which biomass was 3.3 quad, conventional hydroelectricity was 2.9 (up 6.9%), geothermal was 0.35, wind was 0.26 and solar PV was 0.07 quad, explains ‘Renewable Energy Consumption & Electricity Preliminary 2006 Statistics’ released by DOE’s Energy Information Administration.
The electric power sector consumed 56% of renewables, the industrial sector consumed 28% while the transportation and commercial sectors used the remainder. Hydroelectricity had the largest absolute year-to-year change at 186 trillion Btu, while biofuels consumption increased by 164 trillion Btu and wind increased by 80 trillion Btu.
By the end of last year, wind net summer capacity in the U.S. stood at 11,119 MW, or about 2.5 times its level of 2002. Texas, with 2,698 MW of capacity, overtook California as the leader in wind and 15 states reported net increases in wind capacity.
The factors driving growth in wind energy include the federal Production Tax Credit which provides a 1.9¢/kWh tax credit for ten years; Renewable Portfolio Standards and state mandates among 24 states; higher costs of natural gas and global warming.
In 2006, conventional output from hydroelectric facilities increased to 288 billion kWh, its highest level since 2003. The largest increases in hydroelectricity were in California and the northwestern states of Idaho, Oregon and Washington.
Hydroelectricity accounted for 18 b-kWh of the 27 b-kWh increase in green power in the U.S., while wind increased 8 b-kWh spread across a number of states. Total U.S. net summer capacity for all energy sources increased by 10,049 MW in 2006 to 988,069 MW, while capacity of renewables expanded to 101,383 MW total and accounted for 2,637 MW (26% of the national increase).
Ethanol production increased 25% from 3.9 billion gallons in 2005 to 4.9 billion gallons in 2006, due to continued replacement of methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE) by ethanol as a gasoline additive, strong world oil demand and higher crude oil prices, federal tax laws that provide incentives, and the Energy Policy Act of 2005 which mandates annual renewable fuel use in gasoline at 7.5 billion gallons by 2012.
The United States Department of Agriculture estimates that 14% of corn use in the latest crop year went for production of ethanol, up from 11% in the 2004-05 crop year and 6% in 1999-00. The price of corn hit $4 per bushel during 2006, the highest in two decades and higher than the average of $2.40 over the 20-year period. “Increased ethanol production in the U.S., coupled with increased demand from Asian countries for meat from corn-fed livestock, is contributing to the increased demand for corn.”
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