In 2017 Renewables Accounted for Half of New Energy Capacity in US

mukeshbalani.com

In 2017, renewables accounted for nearly 50 percent of all new energy capacity additions in the United States, according to a newly released report from the U.S. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC).

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In total, the U.S. added 12,270 megawatts (MW) of biomass, geothermal, hydropower, solar, and wind energy capacity. Wind and solar accounted for the majority of those additions. Interestingly, the U.S. didn’t add any new coal capacity throughout the year, but did add 11,980 MW of natural gas electricity capacity.

A Promising Trend

This marks the fourth year in a row that renewables outpaced natural gas in terms of energy capacity additions in the U.S. Some are taking the news as a sign that fossil fuels’ days are numbered, despite resistance from the federal government.

“Notwithstanding a year-long effort by the Trump Administration and its congressional allies to prop up coal, nuclear, and natural gas at the expense of renewable energy sources, clean energy technologies have proven themselves to be amazingly resilient,” Ken Bossong, Executive Director of the SUN DAY Campaign, told Clean Technica.

“The unmistakable lesson to be drawn from the past five or more years of FERC data is that solar, wind, and the other renewable energy sources are carving out a large and rapidly-expanding share of the nation’s electrical generation,” he said. . .

 

via futurism.com | Last Year Renewables Accounted for Half of the Energy Capacity Added to the U.S.