New Energy Leaped Ahead In 2017 While Old Energy Dropped

Defying EIA's Earlier Forecasts For 2017, Electricity From Renewable Sources Increased By 13.2% While Coal, Gas, Oil, And Nuclear Power All Declined

Ken Bossong, February 28, 2018 (Sun Day)

“…[An analysis of U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) data showed] electricity generated by renewable energy sources (i.e., biomass, geothermal, hydropower, solar, wind) was 13.2% higher in 2017 (Table 7d) than in 2016…[And] the production by each renewable energy source - as well as its share of the total energy mix -increased: solar (utility-scale + small-scale) was up by 40.5%, hydropower by 12.0%, wind by 12.0%, biomass by 2.1%, and geothermal by 0.9%...Combined, renewables accounted for 17.6% of total electrical generation in 2017, compared to 15.3% in 2016. Wind topped 6% of total electrical generation (6.3%) versus 5.5% a year earlier, while solar reached almost 2% (1.9%) compared to 1.3% in 2016. Solar has now moved into third place among renewables, ahead of biomass and geothermal. Taken together, non-hydro renewables (inc. distributed solar) grew by 14.1% and topped 10% of U.S. electrical generation in 2017 (10.2%) compared to 8.8% in 2016...In contrast, the electrical output by coal, natural gas, oil, and nuclear power all declined…” click here for more

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