Renewables to account for 19% of US power generation in 2020

Jan 16, 2020

Renewable energy sources will account for 19% of electricity generation in the US in 2020 and 22% in 2021, up from 17% last year, according to the short-term forecast of the Energy Information Administration (EIA).

The increase in the power generation share of renewables is due to forecast growth in wind and solar power capacity in the country, EIA said in its Short-Term Energy Outlook published on Tuesday.

According to EIA, 13 GW of utility-scale solar photovoltaic (PV) capacity will be installed in 2020, with another 13 GW added in 2021. In addition, 11 GW of small-scale solar PV installations will be added this and next year. The expected solar capacity increase is supported by different state and federal policies.

Wind capacity in the US is to grow to 125 GW at the end of 2020 and 130 GW at the end of 2021, up from 106 GW at the end of last year. With wind capacity often being added at the end of the calendar year, increases in capacity are often reflected in generation growth for the next year.

EIA expects that the decline in energy-related carbon-dioxide (CO2) emissions will slow to 2.0% this year and 1.5% next year from 2.1% in 2019.

Source: Renewables Now