The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission issues a quarterly report on the installation of new electrical generating capacity in the US. The report for the first quarter of 2013 is notable in that 82% of new generating capacity came from renewable energy sources. The remainder came from natural gas.
The largest contributions came from wind power followed by solar power. Smaller amounts of new capacity came from biomass and hydropower. Even though wind and solar companies have had difficulties on the regulatory side as well as some well-publicized financial problems, it is clear that these industries are rapidly expanding.
The boom in natural gas and its resultant lower prices along with a variety of green initiatives have reduced our country’s appetite for new coal burning plants. None were added for the first three months of the year. Green power is on the rise.
In fact, renewable sources now provide nearly 16% of the country’s generating capacity. Most of this comes from hydropower and wind. It is true that generating capacity is not the same as actual generation. Since wind and solar are intermittent sources, only 13% of the actual energy we generate comes from renewables, and not 16%. But this is still a substantial and, more important, a growing amount.
The transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy is complicated, wrapped up in thorny political and economic issues, and likely to have many ups and downs. But the data show that renewables are surely underway.
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Web Links
FERC report
http://www.ferc.gov/legal/staff-reports/2013/mar-energy-infrastructure.pdf
Photo, taken on November 17, 2006, courtesy of Mason Bryant via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio. Support for Earth Wise comes from the Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies in Millbrook, NY, with partial support from the Field Day Foundation.