We need to be honest: reaching 16 percent of total US energy in 2050 does not mean that renewable energy is taking over from fossil fuels. That percentage is actually less than what US renewable energy sources contributed in 1900. And even by 2050, solar and wind power are projected to make up less than half of the 16 percent of renewables (four and three percentage points respectively), with most of this still coming from the reliable old sources of wood and hydropower.
