A new analysis of recently released data from the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) by the SUN DAY Campaign has highlighted the fact that renewable energy sources accounted for 18.49% of US electrical generation during the first eight months of 2019, up from 17.95% a year earlier.
Image: Zach Shahan – CleanTechnica.com
Further, non-hydro renewables accounted for 11.44% of total US electrical production during the first two-thirds of 2019, growing by an impressive 6.15% compared to the same period a year earlier.
The analysis of US electricity generation is based on the EIA’s latest “Electric Power Monthly” which showcases data through August 31, 2019.
Digging down into specific renewable technologies, solar (including small-scale solar PV systems) grew by 13.7% across the first eight months of 2019, as compared to the same period in 2018, accounting for just over 2.7% of total US electrical output. Small-scale solar PV systems such as distributed rooftop solar increased by 19.1% in the same period, providing nearly a third of total solar electrical generation.
Electricity generated by US wind energy increased by 4.4% over the first two-thirds of the year and accounted for 6.94% of all US electricity generated.
Combined, wind and solar accounted for 9.64% of US electrical generation, while biomass provided 1.4% and geothermal contributed almost 0.4%.
The only downside across the first eight months of the year was a 5.2% decrease in hydropower’s output, but despite this, electricity generation by all renewables nevertheless increased by 1.49% over the same eight months a year earlier. Further, nuclear-generated electricity declined by 0.6% and coal-generated electricity plummeted by 13.9%. Unfortunately, much of coal’s decline was replaced by natural gas, which grew by 6.5%.
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