Renewables will dominate the US energy sector in 2024
According to the latest data from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), renewable energy sources made up 99.2% of new power generation in the United States from January to April 2024. The SUN DAY campaign’s analysis showed that during this period, 7,899 MW of solar energy and 1,825 MW of wind energy were added. Biomass contributed 3 MW, and hydropower added 1 MW. Other sources included 67 MW from gas and 5 MW from oil.
In April alone, 1,324 MW of solar power and 737 MW of wind power were connected to the grid. The only other new capacity in April was 16 MW from gas. Since the beginning of the year, solar power has made up 80.6% of all new capacity added.
Photovoltaics has been the largest source of new production capacity for eight consecutive months, from September 2023 to April 2024. Wind energy was the second-largest source for six of those months.
The share of renewable energy sources in the energy mix is growing
The new installations increased the share of solar energy in the U.S. energy mix to 8.56%, surpassing hydropower, which is at 7.84%. Wind energy now accounts for 11.77%. When including biomass at 1.13% and geothermal at 0.32%, renewable energy sources make up 29.62% of the total U.S. generating capacity. However, gas remains the leading source at 43.58%.
It’s important to note that FERC’s data does not include micro-installations. If these were included, the share of solar and wind energy could increase by up to 25%.
Source: solarpowerworldonline.com