Solar power led the way in U.S. renewable energy growth, a national laboratory reports. (Photo By: SMECO)
In its annual collection of data, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory said renewable generation-including hydropower-jumped by 40 percent from 2008 to 2013, while total generation dropped by about 1.3 percent.
At 171 gigawatts, renewable energy represented 14.8 percent of all installed capacity and 13.1 percent of annual generation, the highest totals ever, the laboratory said in its newly released "2013 Renewable Energy Data Book".
"Installed renewable electricity capacity has grown at a compound annual growth rate of 4.8 percent per year from 2000 to 2013," said the Golden, Colo.-based lab, which is supported by the Department of Energy.
Electric cooperatives are part of that growth with power purchase agreements, as well as several wind, solar and biomass projects that recently have come online.
According to the NRECA Strategic & Economic Analysis unit, co-ops have 6.18 GW of renewable capacity, excluding hydropower from federal power marketing administrations. About 1.14 GW of that are directly owned by co-ops.
Overall, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory said U.S. renewable generation increased 6.1 percent in 2013, with geothermal and hydropower experiencing slight dips.
In a change from recent years, solar energy eclipsed wind as the prime mover in the growth of renewables. Cumulative installed solar capacity jumped almost 66 percent from 2012 to 2013.
The document said states with extensive solar incentives-California, Arizona, New Jersey, North Carolina and Massachusetts-led the United States in both cumulative and annual installations in 2013.
Wind capacity in the U.S. rose by just 1.8 percent in 2013, in part because of uncertainty about production tax credits.
However, at 4.1 percent of all generation, it trails only hydro (6.6 percent) as the top source of U.S. renewable electricity. The U.S. has 61.1 GW of wind, more than any country in the world except China at 91.4 GW.
"Get the latest news from ECT.coop and sign up for your personalized news alerts".
The post By the Numbers: Renewable Energy Gains Momentum appeared first on Electric Co-op Today.
