Electricity Generated From Renewables Up 12.8% From 2011 to 2012 | Article

The amount of U.S. electricity generated from non-hydro renewable sources increased by 12.8 percent from 2011 to 2012, according to the latest “Electric Power Monthly” report released by the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). Meanwhile, the net electricity generated by petroleum coke & liquids dropped 24.1 percent, and declined 12.5 percent for coal.

According to the report, 5.4 percent of net U.S. electrical generation came from non-hydro renewable resources last year, an increase of 12.8 percent over the year before. Including conventional hydropower, renewables made up 12.2 percent of U.S. electrical generation. The breakdown is as follows: hydropower holds a 6.82 percent share of the market, wind a 3.46 percent share, biomass a 1.42 percent share, geothermal a 0.41 percent share, and solar a 0.11 percent share. The level of solar capacity is likely an underestimate, as much of solar capacity is non-utility-scale, for example rooftop photovoltaic cells on homes, which is likely underestimated in this analysis.

Ken Bossong, Executive Director of the SUN DAY Campaign, said, “Technical advances, falling costs, and the desire to address climate change have combined to rapidly expand the contribution of renewable energy to the nation's electrical generation. With the right policy incentives, one can foresee these cleaner energy sources providing the bulk of the nation's electrical needs within a generation.”

Indeed, the use of coal and oil for electricity generation dropped in the past year. However, natural gas continued its strong increase in 2012, growing by 21.4 percent and now providing 30.3 percent of U.S. electricity generation. Natural gas prices have fallen significantly as hydraulic facturing or fracking makes it possible to exploit more domestic fields.

EIA also released data at the state level, making it possible to rank the top states for renewable energy: