Renewable Energy Provides 99% of all U.S. Electrical Generating
Capacity in October
YEAR-TO-DATE, RENEWABLES OUTPACE
COAL,
OIL, AND NUCLEAR POWER COMBINED
For Immediate Release: Thursday,
November 21, 2013
Contact:
Ken Bossong, 301-270-6477 x.11
Washington DC
–
According to the latest "Energy Infrastructure Update" report from the
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's Office of Energy Projects,
solar, biomass, and wind "units" provided 694 MW of new electrical
generating capacity last month or 99.3% of all new generation placed
in-service (the balance of 5 MW was provided by oil.) Twelve new solar
units accounted for 504 MW or 72.1% of all new electrical generating
capacity in October 2013 followed by four biomass units (124 MW - 17.7%)
and two wind units (66 MW - 9.4%).
For the first ten months of 2013, renewable energy sources (i.e.,
biomass, geothermal, hydropower, solar, wind) have accounted for nearly
a third (32.8%) of all new electrical generating capacity.
That is more than that provided thus far this year by coal (1,543 MW -
12.5%), oil (36 MW - 0.3%), and nuclear power (0 MW - 0.0%) combined.
Solar alone comprises 20.5% of new generating capacity (2,528 MW) thus
far this year - more than doubling its 2012 total (1,257 MW).
However, natural gas has dominated 2013 thus far with 6,625 MW of new
capacity (53.7%).
For the first ten months of 2013, compared to the same period in 2012,
new capacity from all sources has declined by 27.5% (from 17,008 MW to
12,327 MW).
Renewable sources now account for nearly 16% of total installed U.S.
operating generating capacity:
water - 8.30%, wind - 5.21%, biomass - 1.32%, solar - 0.59%, and
geothermal steam - 0.33%. * This
is more than nuclear (9.22%) and oil (4.06%) combined.
A second new federal study, the latest issue of "Electric Power Monthly"
by the U.S. Energy Information Administration (with data through
September 30, 2013), notes that renewable energy sources accounted for
12.95% of net electrical generation for the first three-quarters of 2013
(hydropower - 6.90%, wind - 4.03%, wood + biomass - 1.40%, geothermal -
0.41%, solar - 0.21%). This represents an increase of 5.22% compared to
the same period in 2012 with non-hydro renewables combined growing by
15.9% (solar - 91.9%, wind - 21.7%, geothermal - 1.2%, wood + biomass -
0.4%). By comparison electrical generation from all sources (i.e.,
including fossil fuels and nuclear power) dipped by 0.8%.
“As the threats
posed by climate change grow increasingly more dire, renewable energy
sources have clearly become a viable alternative to fossil fuels as well
as nuclear power,” said Ken Bossong, Executive Director of the SUN DAY
Campaign. “Accordingly, efforts by some at the state and national levels
to roll back support for these sources are clearly misguided.”
# # # # # # #
#
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission released its most recent 5-page
"Energy Infrastructure Update," with data through October 31, 2013, on
November 20, 2013. See the tables titled "New Generation In-Service (New
Build and Expansion)" and "Total Installed Operating Generating
Capacity" at
http://www.ferc.gov/legal/staff-reports/2013/oct-energy-infrastructure.pdf
.
The
U.S. Energy Information Administration released its most recent
"Electric Power Monthly" with data through September 30, 2013 on
November 20, 2013; see: http://www.eia.gov/electricity/monthly. The
relevant charts are Tables 1.1, 1.1.A, ES1.A, and ES1.B.
* Note that generating capacity is not the same as actual generation. As
stated, actual net electrical generation from renewable energy sources
in the United States now totals nearly 13%.
=======================
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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