EIA says solar energy doubled in the US in 1H 2014
According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA)'s latest "Electric Power Monthly" report, with data for the first six months of 2014, renewable energy sources (i.e., biomass, geothermal, hydropower, solar, wind) provided 14.3% of net U.S. electrical generation. Conventional hydropower accounted for 7.0% while non-hydro renewables provided an even larger share - 7.3%.
Overall, electrical generation from non-hydro renewable energy sources (i.e., biomass, geothermal, solar, wind) expanded by 10.4% compared to the first half of 2013.
Solar-generated electricity more than doubled (growing by 115.7%) and wind power increased by 9.0% compared to last year. Biomass also grew by 4.0%. However, geothermal power dipped by 1.5% and conventional hydropower declined by 4.2%.
Even with the lower output from hydropower and geothermal, net U.S. electrical generation from all renewable sources combined grew by 2.73%. By comparison, net electrical generation from all energy sources - renewables, fossil fuels and nuclear power - grew by 2.59%.
"Not long ago, EIA was forecasting that renewables would not reach 14% of U.S. electrical generation until the year 2040," noted Ken Bossong, Executive Director of the SUN DAY Campaign. "And even the current 14.3% figure undoubtedly understates the real contribution from renewables inasmuch as EIA's data does not fully reflect distributed and off-grid generation."
