in 2022, generating 39% last year compared to 37% in 2021. Natural gas was the largest source of electricity in the U.S. Coal-fired generation was 20% of the electric sector in 2022, a decline from 23% in 2021. The EIA report found the country remains heavily reliant on the burning of climate-changing fossil fuels. So battery storage, long-distance transmission and other steps will be needed to help address these challenges, he said. Renewables such as solar and wind generate power intermittently. This presents challenges for engineers and policy-makers, Porder said, because existing energy grids were built to deliver power from a consistent source. Many decisions lie ahead, he said, as the proportion of renewables that supply the energy grid increases. electricity without backup is something that engineers are debating,” said Brown University’s Porder. “Wind and solar are going to be the backbone of the growth in renewables, but whether or not they can provide 100% of the U.S. The natural gas share is expected to remain at 39% from 2022 to 2023, and coal is projected to decline from 20% last year to 17% this year. electricity generation mix will increase from 11% to 12% from 2022 to 2023 and that solar will grow from 4% to 5% during the period. The Energy Information Administration projected that the wind share of the U.S. “Renewable energy is now the most affordable source of new electricity in much of the country,” added Wetstone. “Over the past decade, the levelized cost of wind energy declined by 70 percent, while the levelized cost of solar power has declined by an even more impressive 90 percent.” “This booming growth is driven largely by economics,” said Gregory Wetstone, president and CEO of the American Council on Renewable Energy. total followed by Iowa (10%) and Oklahoma (9%). The most wind generation occurred in Texas, which accounted for 26% of the U.S. “I’m happy to see we’ve crossed that threshold, but that is only a step in what has to be a very rapid and much cheaper journey,” said Stephen Porder, a professor of ecology and assistant provost for sustainability at Brown University.Ĭalifornia produced 26% of the national utility-scale solar electricity followed by Texas with 16% and North Carolina with 8%. Business & Finance Click to expand menu.
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