Renewable energy accounts for 75% of new installations for Q1 2015 in U.S.
Stillwater geothermal power plant of Enel, Nevada, (source: nbmg.unr.edu)
Alexander Richter
24 Apr 2015
Out of all new energy installed in the U.S., renewables accounted for over 75%, yet these same sources now account for 16% of total installed capacity for the first quarter of 2015..
New energy installed in the US is predominantly renewable. According to a recent article in Renewable Energy World they quote the “Energy Infrastructure Update” report from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s (FERC) Office of Energy Projects, wind, solar, geothermal, and hydropower combined provided over 75 percent (75.43 percent) of the 1,229 megawatts (MW) of new U.S. electrical generating capacity placed into service during the first quarter of 2015. ”
This is obviously great news and signals a definitive change in the outlook for renewables. Fossil based energy generation will likely take some time to be phased out, but at least the trend has already started.
The same source states that “The numbers for the first three months of 2015 are similar to those for the same period in 2014 when renewable energy sources (i.e., biomass, geothermal, hydropower, solar, wind) provided 1,422 MW of new capacity and natural gas 159 MW while coal and nuclear provided none and oil just 1 MW. Renewable energy sources accounted for half of all new generating capacity last year. Renewable energy sources now account for 16.92 percent of total installed operating generating capacity in the U.S.”
To read the full article, please follow the link below:
Source: Renewable Energy World
