Renewable Energy Experiences Explosive Growth During First Three
Years of Obama Administration
RENEWABLES EXPAND 27% SINCE 2008
NOW 12% OF DOMESTIC ENERGY PRODUCTION
ELECTRICAL GENERATION FROM
NON-HYDRO RENEWABLES INCREASES BY 55%
For Immediate Release: Monday - April 2, 2012
Contact: Ken Bossong, 301-270-6477 x.11
Washington DC – According to the most recent issue of the "Monthly
Energy Review" by the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), with
data through December 31, 2011, renewable energy sources expanded
rapidly during the first three years of the Obama Administration while
substantially outpacing the growth rates of fossil fuels and nuclear
power.
Between January 1, 2009 and December 31, 2011, renewable energy sources
(i.e., biofuels, biomass, geothermal, solar, water, wind) grew by
27.12%. By comparison, during the same three-year period, total domestic
energy production increased by just 6.72% with natural gas and crude oil
production growing by 13.66% and 14.27% respectively. Moreover, during
the same period, nuclear power declined by 1.99% and coal dropped by
7.16%.
Looking at all energy sectors (e.g., electricity, transportation,
thermal), renewable energy sources accounted for 11.74% of domestic
energy production in 2011 – compared to 9.85% in 2008. In fact,
renewable energy sources provided 10.90% more energy in 2011 than did
nuclear power, although nuclear still provides a larger share of the
nation’s electricity. (On the consumption side, which includes oil and
other energy imports, renewable sources accounted for 9.29% of total
U.S. energy use during 2011.)
During the first three years of the Obama Administration, geothermal
grew by 15.63%, hydropower by 26.28%, solar by 28.09%, biofuels by
46.58%, and wind by 113.92%. Only biomass dipped - by 1.21%. Hydropower
accounted for 34.62% of domestic energy production from renewable
sources in 2011, followed by biomass (26.75%), biofuels (22.20%), wind
(12.75%), geothermal (2.42%), and solar (1.24%).
Looking at just the electricity sector, according to EIA’s "Electric
Power Monthly," with data through December 31, 2011, net electrical
generation by non-hydro renewable energy sources (i.e., biomass,
geothermal, solar, wind) grew by 54.6% during the first three years of
the Obama Administration. During the same period, conventional
hydropower expanded by 27.6%. Combined, electrical output from renewable
energy sources was 36.5% greater for calendar year 2011 than it was for
calendar year 2008. By comparison, between January 1, 2009 and December
31, 2011, natural gas used in electrical generation grew by 15.1% while
nuclear and coal dropped by 2.0% and 12.7% respectively.
During 2011, hydro and non-hydro renewables combined accounted for
12.67% of net electrical generation compared to 9.25% in 2008. Comparing
the 12-months of 2011 against the same time period in 2008, wind grew by
116.3%, solar by 110.0%, hydropower by 27.6%, geothermal by 12.5%, and
biomass by 3.1%. For all of 2011, non-hydro renewables accounted for
4.75% of net electrical generation while conventional hydropower
accounted for 7.91%. However, non-hydro renewables have been growing
rapidly and for the last quarter of 2011, they accounted for 5.5% of net
U.S. electrical generation. Among the non-hydro renewables contributing
to net electrical generation in 2011, wind accounted for 61.4%, followed
by biomass (29.1%), geothermal (8.6%), and solar (0.9%).
“The numbers speak for themselves - notwithstanding politically-inspired
criticism, the pro-renewable energy policies pioneered by the Obama
Administration have generated dramatic growth rates during the past
three years, vastly outpacing those of all other energy sources,” said
Ken Bossong, Executive Director of the SUN DAY Campaign. “The
investments in sustainable energy made by the federal government as well
as state and private funders have paid off handsomely underscoring the
short-sightedness of emerging proposals to slash or discontinue such
support.”
# # # # # # # #
The U.S. Energy Information Administration released its most recent
"Monthly Energy Review" on March 28, 2012. It can be found at:
http://www.eia.gov/totalenergy/data/monthly/index.cfm. The
relevant charts from which the data above are extrapolated are Tables
1.1, 1.2, and 10.1. EIA released its "Electric Power Monthly" with
data for 2011 on February 29, 2012; see:
http://www.eia.gov/electricity/monthly. The relevant charts are
Tables 1.1, 1.1.A, ES1.A, and ES1.B.
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The SUN DAY Campaign is a non-profit research and educational
organization founded in 1993 to promote sustainable energy technologies
as cost-effective alternatives to nuclear power and fossil fuels.
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