![02-09-15 First Solar Desert Sunlight Solar Farm (15863210084)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f5/02-09-15_First_Solar_Desert_Sunlight_Solar_Farm_%2815863210084%29.jpg)
According to preliminary data from the
US Energy Information Administration
The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System responsible for collecting, analyzing, and disseminating energy information to promote sound policymaking, efficient markets, and publ ...
,
renewable energy accounted for about 12.6% of total primary energy consumption and about 19.8% of the domestically produced electricity in the United States in 2020.
Since 2019,
wind power
Wind power or wind energy is mostly the use of wind turbines to generate electricity. Wind power is a popular, sustainable, renewable energy source that has a much smaller impact on the environment than burning fossil fuels. Historically ...
has been the largest producer of renewable electricity in the country. Wind power generated 337.9
terawatt-hour
A kilowatt-hour ( unit symbol: kW⋅h or kW h; commonly written as kWh) is a unit of energy: one kilowatt of power for one hour. In terms of SI derived units with special names, it equals 3.6 megajoules (MJ). Kilowatt-hours are a common b ...
s of electricity in 2020, which accounted for 8.4% of the nation's total electricity generation and 43.2% of the total renewable electricity generation.
By October 2021, the United States
nameplate generating capacity for
wind power
Wind power or wind energy is mostly the use of wind turbines to generate electricity. Wind power is a popular, sustainable, renewable energy source that has a much smaller impact on the environment than burning fossil fuels. Historically ...
was 129,256 megawatts (MW).
Texas
Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...
remained firmly established as the leader in wind power deployment, followed by Iowa and Oklahoma as of year end 2020.
Hydroelectric power
Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies one sixth of the world's electricity, almost 4500 TWh in 2020, which is more than all other renewable sources combined an ...
is the second-largest producer of renewable electricity in the country, generating around 7.3% of the nation's total electricity in 2020 as well as 36.4% of the total renewable electricity generation.
The United States is the
fourth largest producer of hydroelectricity in the world after China, Canada and Brazil.
Solar power provides a growing share of electricity in the country, with over 50 GW of installed capacity generating about 1.3% of the country's total electricity supply in 2017, up from 0.9% the previous year.
As of 2016, more than 260,000 people worked in the solar industry and
43 states deployed net metering, where energy utilities bought back excess power generated by
solar array
A photovoltaic system, also PV system or solar power system, is an electric power system designed to supply usable solar power by means of photovoltaics. It consists of an arrangement of several components, including solar panels to absorb and ...
s. Large
photovoltaic power plant
A photovoltaic power station, also known as a solar park, solar farm, or solar power plant, is a large-scale grid-connected photovoltaic power system (PV system) designed for the supply of merchant power. They are different from most building ...
s in the United States include
Mount Signal Solar
Mount Signal Solar, also known as Imperial Valley Solar Project, is a 794 Watt-peak, MWp (614 Watt-peak AC, MWAC) photovoltaic power station west of Calexico, California, Calexico, California, United States, in the southern Imperial Val ...
(600 MW) and
Solar Star
Solar Star is a 579-megawatt ( MWAC) photovoltaic power station near Rosamond, California, United States, that is operated and maintained by SunPower Services. When completed in June 2015, it was the world's largest solar farm in terms of instal ...
(579 MW). Since the United States pioneered
solar thermal power
Concentrated solar power (CSP, also known as concentrating solar power, concentrated solar thermal) systems generate solar power by using mirrors or lenses to concentrate a large area of sunlight into a receiver. Electricity is generated when ...
technology in the 1980s with
Solar One, several more such power stations have been built. The largest of these solar thermal power stations are the
Ivanpah Solar Power Facility (392 MW), southwest of Las Vegas, and the
SEGS
Solar Energy Generating Systems (SEGS) is a concentrated solar power plant in California, United States. With the combined capacity from three separate locations at 354 megawatt (MW), it was once the world's second largest solar thermal energy g ...
group of plants in the Mojave Desert, with a total generating capacity of 354 MW.
Other renewable energy sources include
geothermal, with
The Geysers
The Geysers is the world's largest geothermal field, containing a complex of 18 geothermal power plants, drawing steam from more than 350 wells, located in the Mayacamas Mountains approximately north of San Francisco, California.
Geysers produce ...
in
Northern California the largest geothermal complex in the world.
The development of renewable energy and energy efficiency marked "a new era of energy exploration" in the United States, according to former President
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the ...
. In a
joint address to the Congress
A joint session of the United States Congress is a gathering of members of the two chambers of the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States: the Senate and the House of Representatives. Joint sessions can be held on a ...
on February 24, 2009, President Obama called for doubling renewable energy within the following three years. Renewable energy reached a major milestone in the first quarter of 2011, when it contributed 11.7% of total national energy production (660 TWh), surpassing energy production from nuclear power (620 TWh) for the first time since 1997.
In his 2012
State of the Union address, President Barack Obama restated his commitment to renewable energy and mentioned the long-standing Interior Department commitment to permit 10,000 MW of renewable energy projects on public land in 2012.
Rationale for renewables
Renewable energy technologies encompass a broad, diverse array of technologies, including
solar photovoltaics
Photovoltaics (PV) is the conversion of light into electricity using semiconducting materials that exhibit the photovoltaic effect, a phenomenon studied in physics, photochemistry, and electrochemistry. The photovoltaic effect is commercially us ...
,
solar thermal power
Concentrated solar power (CSP, also known as concentrating solar power, concentrated solar thermal) systems generate solar power by using mirrors or lenses to concentrate a large area of sunlight into a receiver. Electricity is generated when ...
plants and heating/cooling systems,
wind farm
A wind farm or wind park, also called a wind power station or wind power plant, is a group of wind turbines in the same location used to produce electricity. Wind farms vary in size from a small number of turbines to several hundred wind turb ...
s,
hydroelectricity
Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies one sixth of the world's electricity, almost 4500 TWh in 2020, which is more than all other renewable sources combined an ...
,
geothermal power plants, and
ocean power systems and the use of
biomass.
The report ''
Outlook On Renewable Energy In America'' explains that America needs renewable energy, for many reasons:
America needs energy that is secure, reliable, improves public health, protects the environment, addresses climate change, creates jobs, and provides technological leadership. America needs renewable energy. If renewable energy is to be developed to its full potential, America will need coordinated, sustained federal and state policies that expand renewable energy markets; promote and deploy new technology; and provide appropriate opportunities to encourage renewable energy use in all critical energy market sectors: wholesale and distributed electricity generation, thermal energy applications, and transportation.
Another benefit of some renewable energy technologies, like wind and solar photovoltaics (PV) is that they require little or no water to generate electricity whereas thermoelectric (fossil fuel-based) power plants require vast amounts of water for operation.
In 2009, President
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the ...
in the
inaugural address
In government and politics, inauguration is the process of swearing a person into office and thus making that person the incumbent. Such an inauguration commonly occurs through a formal ceremony or special event, which may also include an inaugur ...
called for the expanded use of renewable energy to meet the twin challenges of
energy security
Energy security is the association between national security and the availability of natural resources for energy consumption. Access to (relatively) cheap energy has become essential to the functioning of modern economies. However, the uneven d ...
and
climate change
In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to ...
. Those were the first references ever to the nation's energy use, to renewable resources, and to climate change in an inauguration speech of a United States president. President Obama looked to the near future, saying that as a nation, the United States will "harness the sun and the winds and the soil to fuel our cars and run our factories."
[President Obama Calls for Greater Use of Renewable Energy](_blank)
The president's ''
New Energy For America
New Energy for America was a plan led by Barack Obama and Joe Biden beginning in 2008 to invest in renewable energy sources, reduce reliance on foreign oil, address global warming issues, and create jobs for Americans. The main objective for th ...
'' plan calls for a federal investment of $150 billion over the next decade to catalyze private efforts to build a clean energy future. Specifically, the plan calls for renewable energy to supply 10% of the nation's electricity by 2012, rising to 25% by 2025.
In his
joint address to Congress in 2009, Obama stated that: "We know the country that harnesses the power of clean, renewable energy will lead the 21st century.... Thanks to our
recovery plan, we will double this nation’s supply of renewable energy in the next three years... It is time for America to lead again".
As of 2011, new evidence has emerged that there are considerable risks associated with traditional energy sources, and that major changes to the mix of energy technologies is needed:
Several mining tragedies globally have underscored the human toll of the coal supply chain. New EPA initiatives targeting air toxins, coal ash, and effluent releases highlight the environmental impacts of coal and the cost of addressing them with control technologies. The use of fracking in natural gas exploration is coming under scrutiny, with evidence of groundwater contamination and greenhouse gas emissions. Concerns are increasing about the vast amounts of water used at coal-fired and nuclear power plants, particularly in regions of the country facing water shortages. Events at the Fukushima nuclear plant have renewed doubts about the ability to operate large numbers of nuclear plants safely over the long term. Further, cost estimates for “next generation” nuclear units continue to climb, and lenders are unwilling to finance these plants without taxpayer guarantees.
Renewable energy and carbon dioxide emissions
Between 2010 and 2020, the cost of wind, solar, and natural gas dropped dramatically. In 2018, EIA expected that, after rising by 2.7% in 2018, U.S. energy-related carbon dioxide (CO
2) emissions would decrease by 2.5% in 2019 and by 1.0% in 2020
due to a shift away from coal and toward renewables and natural gas.
Renewable energy has the potential to reduce CO
2 emissions in three key energy use sectors: transport, heating and cooling (including building heating and air conditioning, industrial heat usage, etc.), and electricity. The year 2018 had been a peak year for the use of air conditioning, which was expected to decline.
Current trends
Renewable energy in the electricity sector
Notes:
1 Total electricity energy generation by US utilities.
2 Estimated solar small-scale photovoltaics US Generation
3 Sum of US utility generation and solar small-scale generation
4 Solar utility generation and solar small-scale estimate
5 Bio includes wood, wood-derived products, waste, landfill gas, and other.* 2021 data is preliminary from EPM
![20220314 Renewable electricity generation - United States](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/67/20220314_Renewable_electricity_generation_-_United_States.svg)
Renewable energy accounted for 14.94% of the domestically produced electricity in 2016 in the United States.
This proportion has grown from just 7.7% in 2001, although the trend is sometimes obscured by large yearly variations in hydroelectric power generation. Most of the growth since 2001 can be seen in the expansion of wind generated power, and more recently, in the growth in solar generated power.
Renewable energy in California
California produces more renewable energy than any other state in the United States except Texas. In 2018, California ranked first in the nation as a producer of electricity from solar, geothermal, and biomass resources and fourth in the nation in ...
is prominent, with around 29% of electricity coming from
RPS-eligible renewable sources (including hydropower).
The United States has some of the best renewable energy resources in the world, with the potential to meet a rising and significant share of the nation's energy demand.
A quarter of the country's land area has winds strong enough to generate electricity at the same price as natural gas and coal.
Many of the new technologies that harness renewables—including wind, solar, geothermal, and biofuels—are, or soon will be, economically competitive with the fossil fuels that meet 85% of United States energy needs. Dynamic growth rates are driving down costs and spurring rapid advances in technologies.
Wind power and solar power are becoming increasingly important relative to the older and more established hydroelectric power source. By 2016 wind power covered 37.23% of total renewable electricity production against 43.62% for hydroelectric power. The remaining share of power was generated by biomass at 10.27%, solar power at 6.03% and geothermal with 2.86% of total renewable generation.
In 2015,
Georgetown, Texas
Georgetown is a city in Texas and the county seat of Williamson County, Texas, United States. The population was 67,176 at the 2020 census. It is 30 miles (48 km) north of Austin.
Founded in 1875 from four existing colleges, the oldest of ...
became one of the first American cities to be powered entirely by renewable energy, choosing to do so for financial stability reasons.
The United States consumed about 4,000 TWh of electricity in 2012, and about 30,000 TWh (98 quadrillion BTU) of primary energy. Efficiency improvements are expected to reduce usage to 15,000 TWh by 2050.
Future projections
Using data from Electric Power Annual 2018 capacity projections, the expected changes in generating capabilities for renewable fuel sources would result in an increase of 55.873 GW of capacity coming on-line by the beginning of 2024. This would make a total of 277.77 gigawatts of renewable available by 2024 up 23.1% from 2018. Using this generating capability and the capacity factors from 2018 data will result in a total of 798.19
terawatt-hour
A kilowatt-hour ( unit symbol: kW⋅h or kW h; commonly written as kWh) is a unit of energy: one kilowatt of power for one hour. In terms of SI derived units with special names, it equals 3.6 megajoules (MJ). Kilowatt-hours are a common b ...
s (TWh) of renewable electric energy in 2023. This would be up 61.84 TWh (+8.3%) from 2018.
Renewable electricity sources
Hydroelectricity
Hydroelectric power
Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies one sixth of the world's electricity, almost 4500 TWh in 2020, which is more than all other renewable sources combined an ...
was the largest producer of renewable power in the United States until 2019 when it was overtaken by wind power.
It produced 79.89 TWh which was 7% of the nation's total electricity in 2018 and provided 40.9% of the total renewable power in the country.
The United States is the
fourth largest producer of hydroelectricity in the world after China, Canada and Brazil.
The
Grand Coulee Dam
Grand Coulee Dam is a concrete gravity dam on the Columbia River in the U.S. state of Washington, built to produce hydroelectric power and provide irrigation water. Constructed between 1933 and 1942, Grand Coulee originally had two powerh ...
is the 7th
largest hydroelectric power station in the world and another six U.S. hydroelectric plants are among the 50 largest in the world.
The amount of hydroelectric power generated is strongly affected by changes in precipitation and surface runoff.
Hydroelectricity projects such as
Hoover Dam, Grand Coulee Dam, and the
Tennessee Valley Authority
The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) is a federally owned electric utility corporation in the United States. TVA's service area covers all of Tennessee, portions of Alabama, Mississippi, and Kentucky, and small areas of Georgia, North Carolin ...
have become iconic large construction projects.
File:2018 & 2017 Profile of US Electric Energy Generation from Hydro.jpg, 2018/2017 Hydro Monthly Profile
File:2017 Top Ten Hydro Power States.jpg, 2017 Top Ten Hydro Power States
File:Five Large Hydroelectric Plants.jpg, Five Large Hydroelectric Plants
File:Hydro South Plants.jpg, Hydro South Plants
Wind power
![Windmills south of Dumas, TX IMG 0570](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/64/Windmills_south_of_Dumas%2C_TX_IMG_0570.JPG)
Wind power capacity in the United States tripled from 2008 to 2016, at which time it supplied over 5% of the country's total electricity generation. Wind power overtook hydroelectric as the largest source of renewable electricity generation in 2019, and accounted for 9% of the country's total electricity generation by in 2020.
Wind and solar accounted for two-thirds of new energy installations in the United States in 2015.
United States wind power installed capacity exceeds 81 GW as of 2017.
This capacity is exceeded only by
China.
The 1550MW
Alta Wind Energy Center is the largest wind farm in the United States and the second largest in the world behind the
Gansu Wind Farm
The Gansu Wind Farm Project or Jiuquan Wind Power Base is a group of large wind farms under construction in western Gansu province in China. The Gansu Wind Farm Project is located in desert areas near the city of Jiuquan in two localities of Guaz ...
.
There were 90,000 wind operations jobs in the United States in 2015.
The wind industry in the United States generates tens of thousands of jobs and billions of dollars of economic activity.
Wind projects boost local tax bases, and revitalize the economy of rural communities by providing a steady income stream to farmers with wind turbines on their land.
[American Wind Energy Association (2009)]
Annual Wind Industry Report, Year Ending 2008
pp. 9–10.
GE Energy
GE Power (formerly known as GE Energy) is an American energy technology company, owned by General Electric.
Structure
As of July 2019, GE Power is divided into the following divisions:
* GE Gas Power (formerly Alstom Power Turbomachines), bas ...
is the largest domestic
wind turbine
A wind turbine is a device that converts the kinetic energy of wind into electrical energy. Hundreds of thousands of large turbines, in installations known as wind farms, now generate over 650 gigawatts of power, with 60 GW added each yea ...
manufacturer.
In 2013, wind power received $5.936 billion in federal funding, which is 37% of all federal funding for electricity generation.
The United States has the potential of installing 10
terawatt
The watt (symbol: W) is the unit of power or radiant flux in the International System of Units (SI), equal to 1 joule per second or 1 kg⋅m2⋅s−3. It is used to quantify the rate of energy transfer. The watt is named after James Watt ...
(TW) of onshore wind power and 4 TW of offshore wind.
[Industry Statistics](_blank)
The U.S. Department of Energy's report ''20% Wind Energy by 2030'' envisioned that wind power could supply 20% of all the country's electricity, which included a contribution of 4% from
offshore wind power
Offshore wind power or offshore wind energy is the generation of electricity through wind farms in bodies of water, usually at sea. There are higher wind speeds offshore than on land, so offshore farms generate more electricity per amount of c ...
.
Additional transmission lines will need to be added, to bring power from windy states to the rest of the country.
In August 2011, a coalition of 24 governors asked the Obama administration to provide a more favorable business climate for the development of wind power.
File:2018 & 2017 Profile of US Electric Energy Generation from Wind.jpg, 2018/2017 wind generation
File:10 Yr Profile of Wind Generated Electric Energy.jpg, 10-year profile of wind-generated electric energy
File:Top Ten Wind States.jpg, Top ten wind states
File:Wind Farms across the US 2013-2017.jpg, Wind farm generation 2013–2017
File:Wind Farm Capacity Factors 2013-2017.jpg, Wind farm capacity factors 2013–2017
Solar power
The United States is one of the world's largest producers of solar power.
The country pioneered solar farms and many key developments in concentrated solar and photovoltaics came out of national research.
In 2016, utility scale solar contributed 36.76 TWh to the grid, with 33.367 TWh from photovoltaics and 3.39 TWh from thermal systems.
In 2014, 2015, and 2016, EIA estimated that distributed solar generated 11.233 TWh, 14.139 TWh and 19.467 TWh respectively.
While utility-grade systems have well documented generation, distributed systems contributions to user electric power needs are not measured or controlled.
Therefore, quantitative evaluation of distributed solar to the country's electric power sector has been lacking.
Recently, the Energy Information Administration has begun estimating that contribution.
Before 2008, most solar-generated electric energy was from thermal systems, however by 2011 photovoltaics had overtaken thermal.
File:2018 & 2017 Profile of US Electric Energy Generation from Utility Solar.jpg, :2018 & 2017 Profile of US Electric Energy Generation from Utility Solar
File:2018 Profile of US Electric Energy from Solar.jpg, 2018 Profile of US Electric Energy from Solar
File:Solar Electric Energy including Small.jpg, Solar Electric Energy including Small Scale
File:Solar Farms across the US.jpg, Solar Farms across the US
File:Solar Projects Capacity Factor.jpg, Solar Projects Capacity Factor
File:2017 Top Ten Solar States.jpg, 2017 Top Ten Solar States
File:Top Five Utility Solar States.jpg, Top Five Utility Solar States
File:Top five States for Distributed Solar.jpg, Top five States for Distributed Solar
Photovoltaics
At the end of 2016, the United States had 19.77
gigawatt
The watt (symbol: W) is the unit of power or radiant flux in the International System of Units (SI), equal to 1 joule per second or 1 kg⋅m2⋅s−3. It is used to quantify the rate of energy transfer. The watt is named after James Wat ...
s (GW) of installed utility-scale photovoltaic capacity.
The United States has some of the
largest solar farms in the world.
Mount Signal Solar
Mount Signal Solar, also known as Imperial Valley Solar Project, is a 794 Watt-peak, MWp (614 Watt-peak AC, MWAC) photovoltaic power station west of Calexico, California, Calexico, California, United States, in the southern Imperial Val ...
had installed over 600 MW by 2018 and will have 800 MW of capacity upon completion.
Solar Star
Solar Star is a 579-megawatt ( MWAC) photovoltaic power station near Rosamond, California, United States, that is operated and maintained by SunPower Services. When completed in June 2015, it was the world's largest solar farm in terms of instal ...
is a 579
megawatt
The watt (symbol: W) is the unit of power or radiant flux in the International System of Units (SI), equal to 1 joule per second or 1 kg⋅m2⋅s−3. It is used to quantify the rate of energy transfer. The watt is named after James ...
(MW
AC) farm near
Rosamond, California
Rosamond is a unincorporated community in Kern County, California, US, near the Los Angeles county line. Rosamond is part of Greater Los Angeles and is located in the Mojave Desert just north of Lancaster and Palmdale, two of the largest cities ...
. Completed in June 2015, it uses 1.7 million solar panels, spread over . The
Desert Sunlight Solar Farm
The Desert Sunlight Solar Farm is a 550 megawatt (MW AC) photovoltaic power station approximately six miles north of Desert Center, California, United States, in the Mojave Desert. It uses approximately 8.8 million cadmium telluride modul ...
is a 550 MW
solar power
Solar power is the conversion of energy from sunlight into electricity, either directly using photovoltaics (PV) or indirectly using concentrated solar power. Photovoltaic cells convert light into an electric current using the photovolta ...
plant in
Riverside County, California, that uses thin-film solar
photovoltaic modules made by
First Solar
First Solar, Inc. is an American manufacturer of solar panels, and a provider of utility-scale PV power plants and supporting services that include finance, construction, maintenance and end-of-life panel recycling. First Solar uses rigid thi ...
.
The
Topaz Solar Farm
Topaz Solar Farm is a 550 megawatt ( MWAC) photovoltaic power station in San Luis Obispo County, California, United States. Construction on the project began in November 2011 and ended in November 2014. It is one of the world's largest sola ...
is a 550 MW photovoltaic power plant, in
San Luis Obispo County, California.
The
Blythe Solar Power Project is a 485 MW photovoltaic station planned for
Riverside County, California.
Many schools and businesses have
building-integrated photovoltaic solar panels on their roof. Most of these are grid connected and use
net metering laws to allow use of electricity in the evening that was generated during the daytime. New Jersey leads the nation with the least restrictive net metering law, while California leads in total number of homes which have solar panels installed. Many were installed because of the million solar roof initiative. California decided that it is not moving forward fast enough on photovoltaic generation and in 2008 enacted a
feed-in tariff
A feed-in tariff (FIT, FiT, standard offer contract,Couture, T., Cory, K., Kreycik, C., Williams, E., (2010)Policymaker's Guide to Feed-in Tariff Policy Design National Renewable Energy Laboratory, U.S. Dept. of Energy advanced renewable tariff, ...
. Washington state has a feed-in tariff of 15 ¢/kWh which increases to 54 ¢/kWh if components are manufactured in the state. By 2015, California, Hawaii, Arizona and some other states were lowering payments to
distributed solar owners and instituting new fees for grid usage. Tesla and a handful of other companies were promoting household grid-tied batteries while some electric companies were investing in utility-scale
grid energy storage including very large batteries.
Beginning with the 2014 data year, Energy Information Administration has estimated distributed solar photovoltaic generation and distributed solar photovoltaic capacity.
These non-utility scale estimates that the United States, generated the following additional electric energy from such distributed solar PV systems.
Concentrated solar power
![Ivanpah Solar Power Facility (2)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e8/Ivanpah_Solar_Power_Facility_%282%29.jpg)
At the end of 2016 there were 1.76 GW total installed capacity of solar thermal power across the United States.
Solar thermal power is generally utility-scale.
Prior to 2012, in six southwestern states (Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, and Utah) the US Bureau of Land Management owned nearly (an area larger than the state of Montana) that was open to proposals for solar power installations.
To streamline consideration of applications, the BLM produced a Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (PEIS).
By the subsequent Record of Decision in October 2012, the BLM withdrew 78% of its land from possible solar development, leaving still open to applications for solar installations, an area nearly as large as South Carolina. Of the area left open to solar proposals, the BLM has identified 285 thousand acres in 17 highly favorable areas it calls Solar Energy Zones.
Solar thermal power plants designed for solar-only generation are well matched to summer noon peak loads in prosperous areas with significant cooling demands, such as the south-western United States.
Using thermal energy storage systems, solar thermal operating periods can even be extended to meet base-load needs.
A 2013 study by the US National Renewable Energy Laboratory concluded that utility-scale solar power plants directly disturb an average of 2.7 to 2.9 acres per gigawatt-hour/year, and use from 3.5 to 3.8 acres per gW-hr/year for the entire sites.
According to a 2009 study, this intensity of land use is less than that of the country's average power plant using surface-mined coal. Some of the land in the eastern portion of the Mojave Desert is to be preserved, but the solar industry is more interested in areas of the western desert, "where the sun burns hotter and there is easier access to transmission lines".
Some of the largest solar thermal power plants in the United States are in the south-west of the country, especially in the
Mojave Desert
The Mojave Desert ( ; mov, Hayikwiir Mat'aar; es, Desierto de Mojave) is a desert in the rain shadow of the Sierra Nevada mountains in the Southwestern United States. It is named for the indigenous Mojave people. It is located primarily ...
.
Solar Energy Generating Systems
Solar Energy Generating Systems (SEGS) is a concentrated solar power plant in California, United States. With the combined capacity from three separate locations at 354 megawatt (MW), it was once the world's second largest solar thermal energy g ...
(SEGS) is the name given to nine
solar power plants
Solar power is the conversion of energy from sunlight into electricity, either directly using photovoltaics (PV) or indirectly using concentrated solar power. Photovoltaic cells convert light into an electric current using the photovoltaic ...
in the
Mojave Desert
The Mojave Desert ( ; mov, Hayikwiir Mat'aar; es, Desierto de Mojave) is a desert in the rain shadow of the Sierra Nevada mountains in the Southwestern United States. It is named for the indigenous Mojave people. It is located primarily ...
commissioned between 1984 and 1991.
The installation uses
parabolic trough
A parabolic trough is a type of solar thermal collector that is straight in one dimension and curved as a parabola in the other two, lined with a polished metal mirror. The sunlight which enters the mirror parallel to its plane of symmetry is foc ...
solar thermal
Solar thermal energy (STE) is a form of energy and a technology for harnessing solar energy to generate thermal energy for use in industry, and in the residential and commercial sectors.
Solar thermal collectors are classified by the United S ...
technology along with
natural gas
Natural gas (also called fossil gas or simply gas) is a naturally occurring mixture of gaseous hydrocarbons consisting primarily of methane in addition to various smaller amounts of other higher alkanes. Low levels of trace gases like carbo ...
to generate electricity.
The facility has a total of 400,000 mirrors and covers 1,000 acres (4 km
2).
The plants have a total generating capacity of 354 MW.
Nevada Solar One
Nevada Solar One is a concentrated solar power plant, with a nominal capacity of 64 Watt, MW and maximum steam turbine power output up to 72 MW net (75 MW gross), spread over an area of . The projected Carbon dioxide, CO2 emissions ...
generates 64MW of power and in
Boulder City
Boulder City is a city in Clark County, Nevada, United States. It is approximately southeast of Las Vegas. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the population of Boulder City was 14,885. The city took its name from Boulder Canyon ( ...
,
Nevada
Nevada ( ; ) is a state in the Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the 7th-most extensive, ...
, and was built by the
U.S. Department of Energy (DOE),
National Renewable Energy Laboratory
The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) in the US specializes in the research and development of renewable energy, energy efficiency, energy systems integration, and sustainable transportation. NREL is a federally funded research an ...
(NREL), and Solargenix Energy. Nevada Solar One started producing electricity in June 2007.
Nevada Solar One uses
parabolic troughs as
thermal solar concentrators, heating tubes of liquid which act as solar receivers. These solar receivers are specially coated tubes made of glass and steel. About 19,300 of these 4 metre long tubes are used in the newly built power plant. Nevada Solar One also uses a technology that collects extra heat by putting it into phase-changing molten salts. This energy can then be drawn on at night.
![Ivanpah Solar Power Facility (1)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8e/Ivanpah_Solar_Power_Facility_%281%29.jpg)
The
Ivanpah Solar Power Facility is a 392
megawatt
The watt (symbol: W) is the unit of power or radiant flux in the International System of Units (SI), equal to 1 joule per second or 1 kg⋅m2⋅s−3. It is used to quantify the rate of energy transfer. The watt is named after James ...
(MW) solar power facility which is located in south-eastern California.
[Steven Mufson]
Solar power project in Mojave Desert gets $1.4 billion boost from stimulus funds
''Washington Post
''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large na ...
'', February 23, 2010. The facility formally opened on February 13, 2014.
[Michael R. Blood and Brian Skolof]
"Huge thermal plant opens as solar industry grows"
Associated Press
The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. ne ...
, February 13, 2014.
The
Solana Generating Station is a 280 MW
solar power
Solar power is the conversion of energy from sunlight into electricity, either directly using photovoltaics (PV) or indirectly using concentrated solar power. Photovoltaic cells convert light into an electric current using the photovolta ...
plant which is near
Gila Bend
Gila Bend (; O'odham: Hila Wi:n), founded in 1872, is a town in Maricopa County, Arizona, United States. The town is named for an approximately 90-degree bend in the Gila River, which is near the community's current location. As of the 2020 cen ...
,
Arizona
Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...
, about southwest of
Phoenix
Phoenix most often refers to:
* Phoenix (mythology), a legendary bird from ancient Greek folklore
* Phoenix, Arizona, a city in the United States
Phoenix may also refer to:
Mythology
Greek mythological figures
* Phoenix (son of Amyntor), a ...
. The 250MW
Mojave Solar Project
The Mojave Solar Project (MSP) is a concentrated solar power (CSP) facility in the Mojave Desert in California, about northwest of Barstow. Surrounding the hamlet of Lockhart, Mojave Solar is adjacent to Harper Lake and the SEGS VIII–IX solar ...
is located near
Barstow, California
Barstow is a city in San Bernardino County, California, in the Mojave Desert of Southern California. Located in the Inland Empire region of California, the population was 25,415 at the 2020 census. Barstow is an important crossroads for the In ...
. The
Crescent Dunes Solar Energy Project
The Crescent Dunes Solar Energy Project is a solar thermal power project with an installed capacity of 110 megawatt (MW) and 1.1 gigawatt-hours of energy storage located near Tonopah, about northwest of Las Vegas.
Crescent Dunes is the fir ...
is a 110
megawatt
The watt (symbol: W) is the unit of power or radiant flux in the International System of Units (SI), equal to 1 joule per second or 1 kg⋅m2⋅s−3. It is used to quantify the rate of energy transfer. The watt is named after James ...
(MW)
solar thermal power
Concentrated solar power (CSP, also known as concentrating solar power, concentrated solar thermal) systems generate solar power by using mirrors or lenses to concentrate a large area of sunlight into a receiver. Electricity is generated when ...
project near
Tonopah, about northwest of
Las Vegas
Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...
.
Geothermal power
The United States is the world leader in online capacity and the generation of electricity from geothermal energy.
[Geothermal Energy Association,]
6 Million American Households to be Powered by Geothermal Energy, New Survey Reports
According to 2018 state energy data, geothermal energy provided approximately 16
terawatt-hour
A kilowatt-hour ( unit symbol: kW⋅h or kW h; commonly written as kWh) is a unit of energy: one kilowatt of power for one hour. In terms of SI derived units with special names, it equals 3.6 megajoules (MJ). Kilowatt-hours are a common b ...
s (TWh) of electricity, or 0.38% of the total electricity consumed in the country.
As of May 2007, geothermal electric power was generated in five states: Alaska, California, Hawaii, Nevada, and Utah.
According to the
Geothermal Energy Association
The Geothermal Energy Association (GEA) was a U.S. trade organization composed of U.S. companies who support the expanded use of geothermal energy and are developing geothermal resources worldwide for electrical power generation and direct-heat us ...
's recent report, there were 75 new geothermal power projects underway in 12 states as of May 2007.
This is an increase of 14 projects in an additional three states compared to a survey completed in November 2006.
The most significant catalyst behind new industry activity is the
Energy Policy Act of 2005.
This Act made new geothermal plants eligible for the full federal production tax credit, previously available only to wind power projects.
It also authorized and directed increased funding for research by the
Department of Energy A Ministry of Energy or Department of Energy is a government department in some countries that typically oversees the production of fuel and electricity; in the United States, however, it manages nuclear weapons development and conducts energy-re ...
, and gave the Bureau of Land Management new legal guidance and secure funding to address its backlog of geothermal leases and permits.
The contribution over the last sixteen years of geothermal power to the renewable power generation and to the total US power generation is shown below along with the yearly profile of the geothermal power generation for 2019 (2018) where 2.46 (2.44) GW of capacity produced 16.11 (15.97) TWh of energy.
Biomass
In 2019,
biomass generated 58.412
terawatt-hour
A kilowatt-hour ( unit symbol: kW⋅h or kW h; commonly written as kWh) is a unit of energy: one kilowatt of power for one hour. In terms of SI derived units with special names, it equals 3.6 megajoules (MJ). Kilowatt-hours are a common b ...
s (TWh) of electricity, or 1.41% of the country's total electricity production.
Biomass was the largest source of renewable primary energy in the US, and the fourth-largest renewable source of electrical power in the US, after wind, hydropower, and solar.
![2018 & 2017 Profile of US Electric Energy Generation from Biomass](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cf/2018_%26_2017_Profile_of_US_Electric_Energy_Generation_from_Biomass.jpg)
Biomass electric generation data combines two basic categories:
# Wood and wood-derived fuels including wood/wood waste solids (including paper pellets, railroad ties, utility poles, wood chips, bark and wood waste solids), wood waste liquids (red liquor, sludge wood, spent sulfite liquor, and other wood-based liquids), and black liquor;
# Other biomass fuels include municipal solid waste,
landfill gas
Landfill gas is a mix of different gases created by the action of microorganisms within a landfill as they decompose organic waste, including for example, food waste and paper waste. Landfill gas is approximately forty to sixty percent methane ...
, sludge waste agricultural byproducts, other biomass solids, other biomass liquids, and other biomass gases (including digester gases, methane, and other biomass gases)
The contribution from these two categories over the last fifteen years of biomass electric power to the renewable power generation and to the total US power generation is shown below along with the yearly profile of the electric power generation for 2018 and 2017.
This shows the typical variations over the months of the year due to fuel availability and needs.
Wave power
Wave power in the United States is under development in several locations off the east and west coasts as well as Hawaii. It has moved beyond the research phase and is producing reliable energy. Its use to-date has been for situations where other forms of energy production are not economically viable and as such, the power output is currently modest. But major installations are planned to come on-line within the next few years.
Solar water heating
The U.S. Department of Energy stated (in 2006) that more than 1.5 million homes and businesses were currently using
solar water heating
Solar water heating (SWH) is heating water by sunlight, using a solar thermal collector. A variety of configurations are available at varying cost to provide solutions in different climates and latitudes. SWHs are widely used for residential a ...
in the United States, representing a capacity of over 1,000 megawatts (MW) of thermal energy generation. It predicted that another 400 MW was likely to be installed over the next 3–5 years.
Assuming that 40 percent of existing homes in the United States have adequate access to sunlight, 29 million solar water heaters could be installed.
[Environmental and Energy Study Institute]
Solar water heating
/ref>
Solar water heaters can operate in any climate. Performance varies depending on how much solar energy is available at the site, as well as how cold the water coming into the system is. The colder the water, the more efficiently the system operates.
Solar water heaters reduce the need for conventional water heating by about two-thirds and pay for their installation within 4 to 8 years with electricity or natural gas savings. Compared to those with electric water heaters, Florida homeowners with solar water heaters save 50 to 85 percent on their water heating bills, according to the Florida Solar Energy Center.
Biofuels
Many cars sold in the U.S. since 2001 are able to run on blends of up to 15% ethanol
Ethanol (abbr. EtOH; also called ethyl alcohol, grain alcohol, drinking alcohol, or simply alcohol) is an organic compound. It is an alcohol with the chemical formula . Its formula can be also written as or (an ethyl group linked to a ...
.
Older cars in the United States can run on blends of up to 10% ethanol
Ethanol (abbr. EtOH; also called ethyl alcohol, grain alcohol, drinking alcohol, or simply alcohol) is an organic compound. It is an alcohol with the chemical formula . Its formula can be also written as or (an ethyl group linked to a ...
. Motor vehicle manufacturers already produce vehicles designed to run on much higher ethanol blends. Ford
Ford commonly refers to:
* Ford Motor Company, an automobile manufacturer founded by Henry Ford
* Ford (crossing), a shallow crossing on a river
Ford may also refer to:
Ford Motor Company
* Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company
* Ford F ...
, DaimlerChrysler
The Mercedes-Benz Group AG (previously named Daimler-Benz, DaimlerChrysler and Daimler) is a German multinational automotive corporation headquartered in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is one of the world's leading car manufacture ...
, and GM are among the automobile companies that sell “flexible-fuel” cars, trucks, and minivans that can use gasoline and ethanol blends ranging from pure gasoline up to 85% ethanol (E85). By mid-2006, there were approximately 6 million E85-compatible vehicles on the road.[Worldwatch Institute and Center for American Progress (2006)]
''American energy: The renewable path to energy security''
/ref>
Ninety-five percent of gasoline sold in the U.S.(2016) is blended with 10% ethanol. There are challenges in moving to higher blends, however. Flex-fuel vehicles are assisting in this transition because they allow drivers to choose different fuels based on price and availability. The ''Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007
The Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007Pub.L. 110-140, originally named the Clean Energy Act of 2007, is an Act of Congress concerning the energy policy of the United States. As part of the Democratic Party's 100-Hour Plan during th ...
'', which calls for of biofuels to be used annually by 2012, will also help to expand the market. The USDA in 2015 began offering grants to help gasoline retailers install blender pumps for dispensing mid-level ethanol blends.
The expanding ethanol and biodiesel
Biodiesel is a form of diesel fuel derived from plants or animals and consisting of long-chain fatty acid esters. It is typically made by chemically reacting lipids such as animal fat ( tallow), soybean oil, or some other vegetable oil ...
industries are providing jobs in plant construction, operations, and maintenance, mostly in rural communities. According to the Renewable Fuels Association, the ethanol industry created almost 154,000 jobs in 2005 alone, boosting household income by $5.7 billion. It also contributed about $3.5 billion in tax revenues at the local, state, and federal levels. On the other hand, in 2010, the biofuel industry received $6.64 billion in federal government support.
Renewable energy research
There are numerous organizations within the academic, federal, and commercial sectors conducting large-scale advanced research in the field of renewable energy. This research spans several areas of focus across the renewable energy spectrum. Most of the research is targeted at improving efficiency and increasing overall energy yields.
Multiple federally supported research organizations have focused on renewable energy in recent years. Two of the most prominent of these labs are Sandia National Laboratories
Sandia National Laboratories (SNL), also known as Sandia, is one of three research and development laboratories of the United States Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA). Headquartered in Kirtland Air Force Bas ...
(SNL) and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory
The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) in the US specializes in the research and development of renewable energy, energy efficiency, energy systems integration, and sustainable transportation. NREL is a federally funded research an ...
(NREL), both of which are funded by the United States Department of Energy
The United States Department of Energy (DOE) is an executive department of the U.S. federal government that oversees U.S. national energy policy and manages the research and development of nuclear power and nuclear weapons in the United Stat ...
and supported by various corporate partners. Sandia has a total budget of $2.4 billion while NREL has a budget of $375 million.
Both the SNL and the NREL, have heavily funded solar research programs. BP was also heavily invested in solar research programs until 2008 when the company began scaling back its solar operations. The company finally shut down its forty-year-old solar business after executives decided solar power production is not economically competitive. The NREL solar program has a budget of around $75 million and develops research projects in the areas of photovoltaic (PV) technology, solar thermal energy, and solar radiation. The budget for Sandia's solar division is unknown, however it accounts for a significant percentage of the laboratory's $2.4 billion budget. Several academic programs have focused on solar research in recent years. The Solar Energy Research Center (SERC) at University of North Carolina
The University of North Carolina is the multi-campus public university system for the state of North Carolina. Overseeing the state's 16 public universities and the NC School of Science and Mathematics, it is commonly referred to as the UNC Sy ...
(UNC) has the sole purpose of developing cost effective solar technology. In 2008, researchers at Massachusetts Institute of Technology
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of the ...
(MIT) developed a method to store solar energy by using it to produce hydrogen fuel from water. Such research is targeted at addressing the obstacle that solar development faces of storing energy for use during nighttime hours when the sun is not shining.
In February 2012, North Carolina-based Semprius Inc., a solar development company backed by German corporation Siemens, announced that they had developed the world's most efficient solar panel. The company claims that the prototype converts 33.9% of the sunlight that hits it to electricity, more than double the previous high-end conversion rate.
Wind energy research dates back several decades to the 1970s when NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil List of government space agencies, space program ...
developed an analytical model to predict wind turbine power generation during high winds. Today, both the SNL and NREL have programs dedicated to wind research. Sandia's laboratory focuses on the advancement of materials, aerodynamics, and sensors. The NREL wind projects are centered on improving wind plant power production, reducing their capital costs, and making wind energy more cost effective overall.
The Field Laboratory for Optimized Wind Energy (FLOWE) at Caltech
The California Institute of Technology (branded as Caltech or CIT)The university itself only spells its short form as "Caltech"; the institution considers other spellings such a"Cal Tech" and "CalTech" incorrect. The institute is also occasional ...
was established to research renewable approaches to wind energy farming technology practices that have the potential to reduce the cost, size, and environmental impact of wind energy production.
As the primary source of biofuels in North America, many organizations are conducting research in the area of ethanol
Ethanol (abbr. EtOH; also called ethyl alcohol, grain alcohol, drinking alcohol, or simply alcohol) is an organic compound. It is an alcohol with the chemical formula . Its formula can be also written as or (an ethyl group linked to a ...
production. On the Federal level, the USDA
The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is the federal executive department responsible for developing and executing federal laws related to farming, forestry, rural economic development, and food. It aims to meet the needs of com ...
conducts a large amount of research regarding ethanol production in the United States. Much of this research is targeted toward the effect of ethanol production on domestic food markets.
The National Renewable Energy Laboratory
The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) in the US specializes in the research and development of renewable energy, energy efficiency, energy systems integration, and sustainable transportation. NREL is a federally funded research an ...
has conducted various ethanol research projects, mainly in the area of cellulosic ethanol
Cellulosic ethanol is ethanol (ethyl alcohol) produced from cellulose (the stringy fiber of a plant) rather than from the plant's seeds or fruit. It can be produced from grasses, wood, algae, or other plants. It is generally discussed for use as a ...
. Cellulosic ethanol
Cellulosic ethanol is ethanol (ethyl alcohol) produced from cellulose (the stringy fiber of a plant) rather than from the plant's seeds or fruit. It can be produced from grasses, wood, algae, or other plants. It is generally discussed for use as a ...
has many benefits over traditional corn-based ethanol. It does not take away or directly conflict with the food supply because it is produced from wood, grasses, or non-edible parts of plants. Moreover, some studies have shown cellulosic ethanol to be more cost effective and economically sustainable than corn-based ethanol. Sandia National Laboratories
Sandia National Laboratories (SNL), also known as Sandia, is one of three research and development laboratories of the United States Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA). Headquartered in Kirtland Air Force Bas ...
conducts in-house cellulosic ethanol research and is also a member of the Joint BioEnergy Institute
The Joint BioEnergy Institute (JBEI) is a research institute funded by the United States Department of Energy. JBEI is led by the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, and includes participation from the Sandia National Laboratory, Lawrence Live ...
(JBEI), a research institute founded by the United States Department of Energy
The United States Department of Energy (DOE) is an executive department of the U.S. federal government that oversees U.S. national energy policy and manages the research and development of nuclear power and nuclear weapons in the United Stat ...
with the goal of developing cellulosic biofuels.
Over $1 billion of federal money has been spent on the research and development of hydrogen fuel in the United States. Both the NREL and SNL have departments dedicated to hydrogen research.
Employment
Accurate estimates regarding job creation as a result of an increasing reliance on renewable energy in the United States are challenging to predict due to unforeseen technological developments, uncertainty surrounding the United States’ future import/export levels of renewable energy technology, and ambiguity regarding indirect and induced employment effects. That being said, however, it is very likely that the United States would see a net increase in employment in the energy sector as a result of a renewable energy transition. A study performed by Wei, Patadia, and Kammen about renewable energy efficiency in the United States found that the renewable energy sector generates significantly more jobs than the fossil fuel sector based on the per energy unit delivered. The renewable energies found to have the highest employment per energy unit generated ratios are solar and wind; this is likely due to their installation components. Although net employment would vary per location within the U.S. (for example, West Virginia's net employment would be more adversely impacted than California's due to West Virginia's coal mining industry), in total, net employment in the energy sector within the U.S. is projected to considerably increase. The increase in direct employment as well as increased renewable energy infrastructure would naturally lead to additional indirect and induced jobs as well.
Research done on countries in the European Union has affirmed this positive net employment notion. ''Towards a green energy economy? Tracking the employment effects of low-carbon technologies in the European Union,'' a study done by Markandya et al. used a multi-regional input-output model in conjunction with the World Input-Output Database to analyze data from 1995 - 2009 in search of net employment impacts. These years were specifically considered as the European Union's energy structure was shifting significantly towards gas and other renewable forms of energy during this time. Although the country specific affects varied, it was found that 530,000 jobs overall were netted from the transition during this timeframe. Another study done on Germany by Lehr, Lutz, and Edler used the PANTA RHEI model to evaluate the German energy situation by taking positive and negative renewable energy impacts into account. The model considered different assumptions for fossil fuel prices, domestic installations, international trade, and German exports to developing renewable energy world markets. Under almost all of the scenarios, positive net employment effects were exhibited.
Public opinion
A 2010 survey conducted by Applied Materials
Applied Materials, Inc. is an American corporation that supplies equipment, services and software for the manufacture of semiconductor (integrated circuit) chips for electronics, flat panel displays for computers, smartphones, televisions, and ...
shows that two-thirds of Americans believe solar technology should play a greater role in meeting the country's energy needs. In addition, "three-quarters of Americans feel that increasing renewable energy and decreasing U.S. dependence on foreign oil are the country's top energy priorities". According to the survey, "67 percent of Americans would be willing to pay more for their monthly utility bill if their utility company increased its use of renewable energy".
In a 2010 Chicago Council on Global Affairs public opinion survey, an overwhelming 91 percent believed "investing in renewable energy" is important for the United States to remain economically competitive with other countries, with 62 percent considering this very important. The same poll found strong support for tax incentives to encourage development of renewable energy sources specifically as a way to reduce foreign energy imports. Eight in ten (80 percent) favored tax incentives, 47 percent strongly, and only 17 percent were opposed.
The Chicago Council on Global Affairs (2010) in the public opinion survey also found that approximately 65% of the Americans supported increased fuel efficiencies of the products of the auto makers, irrespective of the price escalation that would be associated with the implementation .
Public Surveys conducted by World Public Opinion in 2008 also revealed that 79% of the Americans were of the notion that a major shift to alternative sources of energy is economically beneficial in the long run.
According to a 2019 CBS News poll on 2,143 U.S. residents, 42% of American adults under 45 years old thought that the U.S. could realistically transition to 100% renewable energy
100% renewable energy means getting all energy from renewable resources. The endeavor to use 100% renewable energy for electricity, heating, cooling and transport is motivated by climate change, pollution and other environmental issues ...
by 2050 while 29% deemed it unrealistic and 29% were unsure. Those numbers for older Americans are 34%, 40%, and 25%, respectively. Differences in opinion might be due to education as younger Americans are more likely to have been taught about climate change in schools than their elders.
Policy and promotion
The Energy Policy Act of 2005 requires all public electric utilities to facilitate net metering. This allows homes and businesses performing distributed generation
Distributed generation, also distributed energy, on-site generation (OSG), or district/decentralized energy, is electrical generation and storage performed by a variety of small, grid-connected or distribution system-connected devices referred to ...
to pay only the net cost of electricity from the grid: electricity used minus electricity produced locally and sent back into the grid. For intermittent renewable energy
Variable renewable energy (VRE) or intermittent renewable energy sources (IRES) are renewable energy sources that are not dispatchable due to their fluctuating nature, such as wind power and solar power, as opposed to controllable renewable ener ...
sources this effectively uses the grid as a battery
Battery most often refers to:
* Electric battery, a device that provides electrical power
* Battery (crime), a crime involving unlawful physical contact
Battery may also refer to:
Energy source
*Automotive battery, a device to provide power t ...
to smooth over lulls and fill in production gaps.
Some jurisdictions go one step further and have instituted feed-in tariff
A feed-in tariff (FIT, FiT, standard offer contract,Couture, T., Cory, K., Kreycik, C., Williams, E., (2010)Policymaker's Guide to Feed-in Tariff Policy Design National Renewable Energy Laboratory, U.S. Dept. of Energy advanced renewable tariff, ...
, which allows any power customer to actually make money by producing more renewable energy than is consumed locally.
From 2006 to 2014, US households received more than $18 billion in federal income tax credit
A tax credit is a tax incentive which allows certain taxpayers to subtract the amount of the credit they have accrued from the total they owe the state. It may also be a credit granted in recognition of taxes already paid or a form of state "dis ...
s for weatherizing their homes, installing solar panels, buying hybrid and electric vehicles, and other "clean energy" investments. These tax expenditures went predominantly to higher-income Americans. The bottom three income quintiles received about 10% of all credits, while the top quintile received about 60%. The most extreme is the program aimed at electric vehicles, where the top income quintile received about 90% of all credits. Market mechanisms have less skewed distributional effects.
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) (), nicknamed the Recovery Act, was a stimulus package enacted by the 111th U.S. Congress and signed into law by President Barack Obama in February 2009. Developed in response to the Gr ...
included more than $70 billion in direct spending and tax credits for clean energy
Clean may refer to:
* Cleaning, the process of removing unwanted substances, such as dirt, infectious agents, and other impurities, from an object or environment
* Cleanliness, the state of being clean and free from dirt
Arts and media Music A ...
and associated transportation programs. This policy-stimulus combination represents the largest federal commitment in United States history for renewable energy, advanced transportation, and energy conservation initiatives. These new initiatives were expected to encourage many more utilities to strengthen their clean energy programs.Clean Edge
Clean Edge, Inc., founded in 2000, is a U.S.-based developer and publisher of thematic stock indexes tracking clean energy, transportation, water, and the grid. The firm's first index, the Nasdaq Clean Edge Green Energy Index (CELS), was launched ...
(2009)
Clean Energy Trends 2009
pp. 1-4. While the Department of Energy has come under criticism for providing loan guarantees to Solyndra, its SunShot initiative has funded successful companies such as EnergySage and Zep Solar
Zep Solar was a manufacturer of mounting and grounding equipment for photovoltaic solar energy generation systems. The company was founded in 2009 in San Rafael, California
San Rafael ( ; Spanish for " St. Raphael", ) is a city and the count ...
.
In his January 24, 2012, State of the Union address, President Barack Obama restated his commitment to renewable energy, stating that he “will not walk away from the promise of clean energy.” Obama called for a commitment by the Defense Department to purchase 1,000 MW of renewable energy. He also mentioned the long-standing Interior Department
An interior ministry (sometimes called a ministry of internal affairs or ministry of home affairs) is a government department that is responsible for internal affairs.
Lists of current ministries of internal affairs
Named "ministry"
* Ministry ...
commitment to permit 10,000 MW of renewable energy projects on public land in 2012.
Some Environmental Protection Agency facilities in the United States use renewable energy for all or part of their supply at the following facilities.
Energy technologies receive government subsidies.
In 2016, federal government energy-specific subsidies and supports for renewables, fossil fuels, and nuclear energy were $6,682 million, $489 million and $365 million, respectively.
All but a few U.S. states now have incentives in place to promote renewable energy, while more than a dozen have enacted new renewable energy laws in recent years.
Renewable energy suffered a political setback in the United States in September 2011 with the bankruptcy of Solyndra
Solyndra was a manufacturer of cylindrical panels of copper indium gallium selenide (CIGS) thin film solar cells based in Fremont, California. Heavily promoted as a leader in the sustainable energy sector for its unusual technology, Solyndra ...
, a company that had received a $535 million federal loan guarantee.
Net metering
Initiatives
SunShot
In February 2011, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) launched its SunShot Initiative
The SunShot Initiative is a federal government program run by the US Department of Energy's Solar Energy Technologies Office. It bills itself as a national effort to support solar energy adoption in order to make solar energy affordable for all Ame ...
, a collaborative national effort to cut the total cost of photovoltaic solar energy systems by 75% by 2020. Reaching this goal would make unsubsidized solar energy cost-competitive with other forms of electricity and get grid parity
Grid parity (or socket parity) occurs when an alternative energy source can generate power at a levelized cost of electricity (LCOE) that is less than or equal to the price of power from the electricity grid. The term is most commonly used wh ...
. The SunShot initiative included a crowdsourced innovation program run in partnership with Topcoder
Topcoder (formerly TopCoder) is a crowdsourcing company with an open global community of designers, developers, data scientists, and competitive programmers. Topcoder pays community members for their work on the projects and sells community s ...
, during which 17 different solar energy application solutions were developed in 60 days. In 2011, the price was $4/W, and the SunShot goal of $1/W by 2020 was reached in 2017.
Wind Powering America
Wind Powering America (WPA) is another DOE initiative that seeks to increase the use of wind energy. WPA collaborates with state and regional stakeholders, including farmers, ranchers, Native Americans, rural electric cooperatives, consumer-owned utilities and schools.
WPA has focused on states with strong potential for wind energy generation but with few operational projects. WPA provides information about the challenges, benefits, and impacts of wind technology implementation.
Solar America Initiative
The Solar America Initiative
Solar power includes solar farms as well as local distributed generation, mostly Rooftop solar power, on rooftops and increasingly from community solar arrays. In 2021, utility-scale solar power generated 115 Kilowatt-hour#Multiples, terawat ...
(SAI) is a part of the Federal Advanced Energy Initiative
The Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007Pub.L. 110-140, originally named the Clean Energy Act of 2007, is an Act of Congress concerning the energy policy of the United States. As part of the Democratic Party's 100-Hour Plan during the ...
to accelerate the development of advanced photovoltaic materials with the goal of making it cost-competitive with other forms of renewable electricity by 2015.
The DOE Solar Energy Technology Program (SETP) intended to achieve the goals of the SAI through partnerships and strategic alliances by focusing primarily on four areas:
*Market Transformation Market transformation describes both a policy objective and a program strategyYork, D. A Discussion and Critique of Market Transformation' , Review 186-1. Energy Center of Wisconsin, June 1999 to promote the value and self-sustaining presence of en ...
— activities that address marketplace barriers
*Device and Process Proof of Concept — R&D activities that address novel devices or processes with significant performance or cost advantages
*Component Prototype and Pilot-Scale Production — R&D activities emphasizing development of prototype photovoltaic (PV) components or systems at pilot-scale with demonstrated cost, reliability or performance advantages
*System Development and Manufacturing — collaborative R&D activities among industry and university partners
California Solar Initiative
As part of former Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger's Million Solar Roofs Program, California set a goal to create 3,000 megawatts of new, solar-produced electricity by 2017, with funding of $2.8 billion.[California Public Utilities Commission]
The California Solar Initiative
The California Solar Initiative
Solar power in California includes utility-scale solar power plants as well as local distributed generation, mostly from rooftop photovoltaics. It has been growing rapidly because of high insolation, community support, declining solar costs, ...
offers cash incentives on solar PV systems of up to $2.50 a watt. These incentives, combined with federal tax incentives, can cover up to 50% of the total cost of a solar panel system. Financial incentives to support renewable energy are available in some other US states.[Database of State Incentives for Renewables and Efficiency]
Financial Incentives in the USA
Green Power Partnership
The EPA named the top 20 partners in its Green Power Partnership The United States Environmental Protection Agency's Green Power Partnership is a voluntary program that supports the organizational procurement of green power by offering expert advice, technical support, tools and resources. It provides public hea ...
that are generating their own renewable energy on-site. Combined, they generate more than 736 million kilowatt-hours of renewable energy on-site each year, enough to power more than 61,000 average U.S. homes.
Renewable portfolio standards
A Renewable Portfolio Standard refers to legislation that creates a market in tradeable renewable or green electricity certificates. Electricity distributors or wholesaler purchasers of electricity are required to source a specified percentage of their electricity (portfolio) from renewable generation sources. Liable entities that fall short of their quota can purchase certificates from accredited suppliers who have generated renewable electricity and obtained and registered certificates to sell on that market.
Renewable energy organizations
The American Council on Renewable Energy
Founded in 2001, the American Council on Renewable Energy (ACORE) is a member-based, 501(c)(3) national non-profit organization that unites finance, policy and technology to accelerate the transition to a renewable energy economy.
ACORE's member ...
(ACORE), is a non-profit organization with headquarters in Washington, D.C.
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, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
It was founded in 2001 as a unifying forum for bringing renewable energy into the mainstream of America's economy and lifestyle. In 2010 ACORE had over 700 member organizations. In 2007, ACORE published Outlook On Renewable Energy In America, a two volume report about the future of renewable energy in the United States. It has been said that this report exposes a "new reality for renewable energy in America."
The Environmental and Energy Study Institute
The Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI) is an independent, bi-partisan 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that aims to promote environmentally sustainable societies. Based out of Washington, DC, EESI seeks to be a catalyst moving so ...
(EESI) is a non-profit organization
An organization or organisation (English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English; American and British English spelling differences#-ise, -ize (-isation, -ization), see spelling differences), is an legal entity, entity—such as ...
which promotes environmentally sustainable societies. Founded in 1984 by a group of Congressional Members, EESI seeks to be a catalyst that moves society away from environmentally damaging fossil fuels and toward a clean energy future. EESI presents policy solutions that will result in decreased global warming
In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to E ...
and air pollution
Air pollution is the contamination of air due to the presence of substances in the atmosphere that are harmful to the health of humans and other living beings, or cause damage to the climate or to materials. There are many different typ ...
; improvements in public health, energy security
Energy security is the association between national security and the availability of natural resources for energy consumption. Access to (relatively) cheap energy has become essential to the functioning of modern economies. However, the uneven d ...
and rural economic development opportunities; increased use of renewable energy sources and improved energy efficiency
Energy efficiency may refer to:
* Energy efficiency (physics), the ratio between the useful output and input of an energy conversion process
** Electrical efficiency, useful power output per electrical power consumed
** Mechanical efficiency, a ra ...
.
An important part of the mission of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory
The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) in the US specializes in the research and development of renewable energy, energy efficiency, energy systems integration, and sustainable transportation. NREL is a federally funded research an ...
(NREL) is the transfer of NREL-developed technologies to renewable energy markets. NREL's Technology Transfer Office supports laboratory scientists and engineers in the successful and practical application of their expertise and the technologies they develop. R&D staff and facilities are recognized and valued by industry, as demonstrated through many collaborative research projects and licensed technologies with public and private partners. NREL's innovative technologies have also been recognized with 39 R&D 100 Awards.
The Rocky Mountain Institute
RMI (Rocky Mountain Institute) is an organization in the United States co-founded by Amory Lovins dedicated to research, publication, consulting, and lecturing in the field of sustainability, with a focus on profitable innovations for energy an ...
(RMI) is an organization dedicated to research, publication, consulting, and lecturing in the general field of sustainability, with a special focus on profitable innovations for energy and resource efficiency. RMI is headquartered in Snowmass, Colorado
Snowmass (sometimes known locally as Old Snowmass) is an unincorporated community and a U.S. Post Office located in Pitkin County, Colorado, United States. It is situated in the valley of the Roaring Fork River, near the mouth of Snowmass Creek ...
, and also maintains offices in Boulder, Colorado. RMI is the publisher of the book ''Winning the Oil Endgame
''Winning the Oil Endgame: Innovation for Profits, Jobs and Security'' is a 2005 book by Amory B. Lovins, E. Kyle Datta, Odd-Even Bustnes, Jonathan G. Koomey, and Nathan J. Glasgow, published by the Rocky Mountain Institute. It presents an indep ...
''.
Potential resources
The United States has the potential of installing 11 terawatt
The watt (symbol: W) is the unit of power or radiant flux in the International System of Units (SI), equal to 1 joule per second or 1 kg⋅m2⋅s−3. It is used to quantify the rate of energy transfer. The watt is named after James Watt ...
(TW) of onshore wind power and 4 TW of offshore wind power, capable of generating over 47,000 TWh.
The potential for concentrated solar power in the southwest is estimated at 10 to 20 TW, capable of generating over 10,000 TWh.
A 2012 report by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory
The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) in the US specializes in the research and development of renewable energy, energy efficiency, energy systems integration, and sustainable transportation. NREL is a federally funded research an ...
evaluates the potential energy resources for each state of the United States.NREL Study Shows Renewable Energy Potential in Every State
In 2010, the United States used 3,754 TWh of electricity. Total energy used in 2010 was 28,800 TWh (98.16 quadrillion BTU), with over 30% thermal losses .
Note: Total use is inflated to create an oil equivalence.
Historical data
See also
*American Council on Renewable Energy
Founded in 2001, the American Council on Renewable Energy (ACORE) is a member-based, 501(c)(3) national non-profit organization that unites finance, policy and technology to accelerate the transition to a renewable energy economy.
ACORE's member ...
*Americas Energy and Climate Symposium Americas Energy and Climate Symposium is the first major energy event after the Summit of the Americas in April 2009, where U.S. President Barack Obama announced the formation of the Energy and Climate Partnership of the Americas (ECPA). ECPA is a ...
*Catching the Sun (film)
''Catching the Sun'' is a 2015 documentary film on the growth of the solar power industry that premiered on Netflix in April, 2016. Directed by Shalini Kantayya, the film features portraits of diverse personalities and their roles in the transit ...
*Energy conservation in the United States
The United States is the second-largest single consumer of energy in the world. The U.S. Department of Energy categorizes national energy use in four broad sectors: transportation, residential, commercial, and industrial.
Energy usage in transp ...
* Efficient energy use
*Energy policy of the United States
The energy policy of the United States is determined by federal, state, and local entities. It addresses issues of energy production, distribution, consumption, and modes of use, such as building codes, mileage standards, and commuting polic ...
* Lists of renewable energy topics
*List of wind farms in the United States
This is a list of large wind farms in the United States. Many of the wind farms in the United States are located in the Great Plains.
Onshore wind farms
Listed are wind farms with a generating capacity of at least 150 megawatts (MW) or any ...
* List of U.S. states by electricity production from renewable sources
*List of renewable energy topics by country and territory, Renewable energy by country
*Renewable energy commercialization
*Little Box Challenge
References
Further reading
* GA Mansoori, N Enayati, LB Agyarko (2016)
Energy: Sources, Utilization, Legislation, Sustainability, Illinois as Model State
World Sci. Pub. Co.,
*''Clean Tech Nation, Clean Tech Nation: How the U.S. Can Lead in the New Global Economy'' (2012) by Ron Pernick and Clint Wilder
*''Deploying Renewables 2011'' (2011) by the International Energy Agency
*''Reinventing Fire: Bold Business Solutions for the New Energy Era'' (2011) by Amory Lovins
*
Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Incentives: A Summary of Federal Programs
' (December 14, 2016) by the Congressional Research Service
*''Renewable Energy Sources and Climate Change Mitigation'' (2011) by the IPCC
*''Solar Energy Perspectives'' (2011) by the International Energy Agency
External links
U.S. Renewable Energy Factsheet
by the University of Michigan'
Center for Sustainable Systems
{{DEFAULTSORT:Renewable Energy In The United States
Renewable energy in the United States,
Energy in the United States