WASHINGTON, DC, USA,
September 5, 2007.
Only two states in the U.S. used solar to generate electricity last year, and the output dropped 10% from 2005.
California used PV to generate 494,572,000 kWh in 2006, while Arizona was rated at 10,843,000 kWh, according to preliminary statistics on consumption of renewables released by the U.S. Department of Energy. In 2005, California had output of 536,713,000 kWh and Arizona was credited with 13,581,000 kWh.
Wind turbines generated 50 times more electricity, for a national total of 25.7 billion kWh last year, compared with 17.8 b-kWh in 2005. Twenty-six states are noted in the DOE report, led by Texas at 6 b-kWh, California at 5, Iowa with 2.2 and Minnesota with 2 billion kWh generated.
Geothermal was generated in four states: 13 billion kWh in California, 1.4 b-kWh in Nevada and 0.2 b-kWh in Hawaii and Utah, for a national total of 14.8 billion kWh. In 2005, the national total was 14.7 b-kWh.
Biomass generates electricity in most of the 50 states, with 39.4 b-kWh from wood, 14 from landfill gas and 2 b-kWh from other biomass, while conventional hydropower is the largest source at 288.3 billion kWh last year (270.3 in 2005), with only Connecticut, Delaware and Mississippi reporting no output from hydro.
Total generation of green power in the U.S. last year was 385 billion kWh, up from 357.5 b-kWh in 2005. Washington is the state with the largest output (84 b-kWh, of which 82 is from hydro dams), followed by California at 73 b-kWh, Oregon with 39.2, New York with 28.6 and Idaho with 11.7 b-kWh.
Delaware and the capital District of Columbia show no generation of green power, with Rhode Island at 7 million kWh.
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