Renewables’ share of US electrical generation increased 10% in H1 2024

A review by the SUN DAY Campaign of data newly released by the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) confirms that during the first half of 2024 solar and wind were the nation’s fastest growing sources of electricity as the mix of all renewables increased their output by nearly 10%.

Key Year-to-Date (YTD) Trends for Solar:

In its latest monthly "Electric Power Monthly" report (with data through June 30, 2024), EIA says the combination of utility-scale and “estimated” small-scale (e.g., rooftop) solar increased by 26.3% in the first six months of 2024 compared to the same period in 2023.

Utility-scale solar thermal and photovoltaic expanded by 30.4% while small-scale solar PV increased by 17.4%. Together, solar was almost 7.0% (6.9%) of total US electrical generation for the period and 8.2% in June alone.

Small-scale solar (i.e., systems <1-MW) accounted for almost 30% of all solar generation and provided 2% of US electricity supply in the first six months of this year.[1]

In fact, small-scale solar PV is now generating almost twice as much electricity as utility-scale biomass as well as over five times more electricity than either utility-scale geothermal or the mix of petroleum liquids and coke.

Wind Makes a Strong Come-Back:

Following significant declines in 2023, wind-generated electricity has rebounded.

The electrical output of the nation’s wind farms in the first six months of 2024 was 8.2% more than that of a year ago. In June alone, wind-generated electricity was 39.2% above the level recorded for the same month a year earlier.

Key YTD Trends for the Mix of Renewables:

The combination of wind and solar provided 18.6% of the nation’s electrical generation during the first half of 2024 while they accounted for 17.8% in June alone.

Compared to the same period in 2023, electrical generation by hydropower increased by 0.5% during the first half of this year while growing by 8.9% in June.

Between January and June, electrical generation by the mix of all renewables (i.e., solar, wind, and hydropower plus biomass and geothermal) grew by 9.6% compared to the same period a year earlier and provided 26.0% of total production. Renewables accounted for 25.0% of electrical output in the first six months of 2023.

In June alone, electrical generation by renewables grew by 25.7% compared to June 2023 and were 24.4% of the US total. A year earlier, their share had been only 21.2%.

Other Developments:

During the first six months of 2024, solar generation (6.9% of the total) stayed ahead of hydropower (6.0%). In June alone, solar produced over 53% more electricity than hydropower thereby further cementing solar’s status as the second largest renewable energy source – behind only wind (whose own output in June was almost double that of hydro). [2]

In June alone (as well as during the first six months of this year), the combination of wind and solar produced more electricity than did either coal or nuclear power: 15.4% more than coal and 3.9% more than nuclear.

Taken together, renewables strengthened their position as the second largest source of electrical generation, behind only natural gas whose lead over renewables continues to narrow.

Growth of Renewables Over the Past Five and Ten Years:

By the end of June 2024, the mix of renewables – including small-scale solar - was providing 26.0% of US electrical generation, including 11.7% from wind, 6.9% from solar and 6.0% from hydropower.

Five years earlier, renewables’ share was 20.1% with wind at 7.8% and solar at 2.7%.

A decade ago (i.e., June 30, 2014), renewable energy sources provided 14.3% of US electrical generation. That included a 5.0% share from wind and a mere 0.4% share from utility-scale solar. At that time, EIA had not yet begun reporting electrical generation by distributed solar.

Actual generation by the mix of renewables at mid-year 2024 is more than 90% (i.e., 91.3%) greater than it was as of mid-year 2014. Wind output is nearly two and one-half times greater while solar generation has increased by 17-fold.

"Driven by solar and wind, the mix of renewable energy sources is adding, on average, a percentage point or more each year to their share of the nation’s electrical generation," noted the SUN DAY Campaign's executive director Ken Bossong. "Solar and wind now individually out-produce hydropower while the combination generates more electricity than does either coal or nuclear power."

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Source:

EIA released its latest “Electric Power Monthly” report on August 23, 2024. The full report can be found at: https://www.eia.gov/electricity/monthly

For the data cited in this release, see Table ES1.B (“Total Electric Power Industry Summary Statistics, Year-to-Date 2024 and 2023”) as well as Table ES1.A (“Total Electric Power Industry Summary Statistics, 2024 and 2023”)

Notes:

[1] In its “Electric Power Monthly” report, EIA refers to small-scale or distributed solar as “Estimated Small Scale Solar Photovoltaic.” All calculations presented in this release include electrical generation by small-scale solar which EIA estimates to have totaled 42,449 gigawatthours (GWh) during the first six months of 2024 and 8,618 GWh in June alone.

[2] In June 2024, utility-scale and small-scale solar combined produced 32,536 GWh (8.2% of total US electrical generation) while hydropower produced 21,207 GWh (5.3%). Wind produced 38,330 GWh (9.6%).

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The SUN DAY Campaign is a non-profit research and educational organisation founded in 1992 to support a rapid transition to 100% reliance on sustainable energy technologies as a cost-effective alternative to nuclear power and fossil fuels and as a solution to climate change.

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