Through the first three quarters of 2024, renewables elevated their output by nearly 9% year-over-year, and photo voltaic remains to be main the cost, experiences the US Vitality Data Administration (EIA).
Photo voltaic’s huge progress
In accordance with the EIA’s “Electrical Energy Month-to-month” report, which incorporates knowledge via September 2024, solar energy technology (together with each utility-scale and rooftop installations) shot up by 25.9% in comparison with the primary 9 months of 2023.
Utility-scale photo voltaic grew even sooner – up 30.1% – whereas small-scale photo voltaic (largely rooftop) elevated by 16.2%. Mixed, photo voltaic contributed greater than 7% of the entire electrical energy generated within the US up to now this yr.
Zooming in on September, utility-scale photo voltaic technology grew by a whopping 29% in comparison with September 2023, and rooftop photo voltaic climbed by 14.2%. Mixed, photo voltaic generated 7.5% of the nation’s electrical energy that month.
Small-scale photo voltaic made up practically 30% of all photo voltaic technology from January to September and supplied 2% of the nation’s electrical energy. Apparently, small-scale photo voltaic is now producing nearly double the electrical energy of utility-scale biomass, and over 5 instances that of both geothermal or petroleum-based energy.
Wind and renewables combine
Wind energy additionally noticed sturdy progress up to now this yr. From January to September, wind output was up 6.6% in comparison with final yr. Wind nonetheless holds the highest spot amongst renewables, making up 9.9% of US electrical energy technology within the first 9 months of 2024.
The mixed contribution of wind and photo voltaic supplied 17% of the US’s electrical energy for the primary three-quarters of 2024. Altogether, renewables – together with wind, photo voltaic, hydropower, biomass, and geothermal – provided 24% of US electrical energy in that interval, in comparison with 22.8% throughout the identical time final yr.
The numbers present that renewables are rising a lot sooner than conventional power sources. For instance, within the first 9 months of 2024, renewables grew by 8.6%, which is greater than double the expansion price of pure gasoline (4.1%) and nearly seven instances that of nuclear (1.3%). Even in September alone, renewable energy technology was up 7.9% in comparison with September 2023, making up 21.3% of whole electrical energy technology that month.
Different notable developments
From January to September, wind generated 76.4% extra electrical energy than hydropower, and photo voltaic surpassed hydropower by 27.2%. In September alone, wind and photo voltaic produced 73.5% and 65.9% extra electrical energy, respectively, than hydropower, because of drought circumstances, notably within the Pacific Northwest.
For the primary 9 months of 2024, wind and photo voltaic collectively produced 14.5% extra electrical energy than coal and got here near catching up with nuclear energy’s share of electrical energy technology (17% in comparison with nuclear’s 17.6%). This progress has solidified renewables’ place because the second-largest supply of electrical energy technology within the US, behind pure gasoline.
Ken Bossong, government director of the SUN DAY Marketing campaign, which reviewed the EIA’s knowledge, put it merely: “Renewable power sources now account for 1 / 4 of the nation’s electrical energy. Any try by the incoming Trump Administration to undermine renewables would have severe unfavourable impacts on each the nation’s electrical energy provide and the economic system.”
Learn extra: US photo voltaic and wind progress defies expectations – a decade in numbers
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