Renewable Electricity Expands by 26%; Provides 14% of Net U.S. Electricity while Nuclear Drops by 4% and Coal by 5%
For Immediate Release:
Monday - October 3, 2011
Contact:
Ken Bossong, 301-270-6477 x.11
Washington DC
– According to the most recent issue of the "Monthly Energy Review" by
the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA),
with data through June 30, 2011,
renewable
energy has passed another milestone as domestic production is now
significantly greater than that of nuclear power and continues to close
in on oil.
During the first half of 2011, renewable
energy sources (biomass & biofuels, geothermal, solar, water, wind)
provided 4.687 quadrillion Btus of energy or 12.25% of U.S. energy
production. By comparison, renewables accounted for 11.05% of domestic
production during the first half of 2010 and 10.50% during the first
half of 2009. (On the consumption side, which includes oil and other
energy imports, renewable sources accounted for 9.45% of total U.S.
energy use.)
More significantly, energy production from
renewable energy sources in 2011 was 17.91% more than that from nuclear
power, which provided 3.975 quadrillion Btus and has been declining in
recent years. Energy from renewable sources is now equal to 79.83% of
that from domestic crude oil production, with the gap closing rapidly.
Looking at all energy sectors (e.g.,
electricity, transportation, thermal), production of renewable energy,
including hydropower, has increased by 15.02% compared to the first half
of 2010, and by 22.79% when compared to the first half of 2009. Among
the renewable energy sources, biomass and biofuels accounted for 46.04%
in 2011 (54% from biomass and 46% from biofuels), followed by hydropower
(37.00%), wind (13.40%), geothermal (2.33%), and solar (1.22%).
Looking at
just the electricity sector, according to the
latest issue of EIA’s "Electric Power Monthly," with data through June
30, 2011,
for the first half of
2011, renewable energy sources (biomass, geothermal, solar, water, wind)
accounted for 13.97% of net U.S. electrical generation - up 26.14% from
the same period in 2010. Hydropower accounted for 8.94% of U.S.
electrical generation, followed by wind at 3.24%, biomass at 1.33%,
geothermal at 0.41%, and solar at 0.04%. Thus, non-hydro renewables
accounted for 5.02% of net U.S. electrical generation. Comparing the
first six months of 2011 to the first six months of 2010,
solar-generated electricity expanded by 43.6%, wind by 35.1%, hydropower
by 30.3%, and geothermal by 4.9%; only biomass dropped - by 4.4%.
By comparison, nuclear power's contribution
to net U.S. electrical generation totaled 19.12% representing a decline
of 3.8% compared to the first half of 2010 and a drop of over 5%
compared to the first half of 2009. Similarly, coal-generated
electricity also dipped by 4.8% from its mid-year 2010 level while
natural gas increased by 2.4%.
“Notwithstanding a few high-profile
set-backs such as the recent collapse of the solar company Solyndra,
U.S. governmental investments in renewable energy sources have proven to
be highly profitable and are yielding stellar returns,” said Ken
Bossong, Executive director of the SUN DAY Campaign. “Ongoing and
expanded public support is certainly warranted, particularly in light of
the risks posed by continued reliance on environmentally dangerous
sources such as nuclear power and fossil fuels.”
# # # # # # # #
The U.S. Energy Information Administration
released its most recent "Monthly Energy Review" on September 28, 2011.
It can be found at:
http://www.eia.gov/totalenergy/data/monthly.
The relevant charts from which the data above are extrapolated
are Tables 1.1, 1.2, and 10.1.
EIA released its most recent "Electric Power Monthly" on
September 15, 2011;
see:
http://www.eia.gov/electricity/monthly.
The relevant charts are Tables 1.1, ES1.B, and 1.1.A.
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The SUN DAY
Campaign is a non-profit research and educational organization founded
in 1993 to promote sustainable energy technologies as cost-effective
alternatives to nuclear power and fossil fuels.
SUN DAY CAMPAIGN
6930 Carroll Avenue, Suite #340; Takoma
Park, MD 20912
301-270-6477 x.11
sun-day-campaign@hotmail.com
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