Highlights
- EIA's END-OF-YEAR DATA CONFIRM SOLAR WAS FASTEST GROWING SOURCE OF ELECTRICITY
- AS ALL RENEWABLES COMBINED EXPAND TO 22.7% OF U.S. ELECTRICAL GENERATION IN 2023
- SOLAR IS ABOUT TO OVERTAKE HYDROPOWER; SOLAR + WIND CLOSING IN ON COAL
A review by the SUN DAY Campaign of data newly-released by the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) reveals that solar has continued its decade-long streak of being the nation's fastest growing source of electricity.
In its latest monthly "Electric Power Monthly" report (with data through December 31, 2023), EIA says the combination of utility-scale and small-scale (e.g., rooftop) solar increased by 16.1% last year. Small-scale solar alone grew by 20.1% - faster than any other energy source - and the pace may be accelerating. In just December, small-scale solar increased by 21.4% while total solar grew by 30.7%.
As a consequence, by year's end, solar was nearly six percent (5.6%) of total U.S. electrical generation. Small-scale solar accounted for nearly a third (30.9%) of all solar generation and provided more than 1.7% of U.S. electricity supply last year. [1]
Solar generation has now pulled nearly even with hydropower (also 5.6% of the total) and should surpass it within the next few months to become the second largest renewable energy source - behind only wind. [2]
Similarly, the mix of solar (5.6%) and wind (10.0%) is closing in on coal (15.9%) and seems well-positioned to overtake the latter sometime this year. Including biomass and geothermal, the mix of all non-hydro renewables (17.1%) has already surpassed coal whose contribution to the nation's electricity mix fell by 18.8% compared to 2022.
The combination of all renewables (i.e., biomass, geothermal, hydropower, solar, wind) out-produced the nation's nuclear power plants by almost a quarter (24.7%) and appears poised to widen the gap in 2024. Notwithstanding the recent addition of the Vogtle-3 reactor in Georgia, nuclear-generated electricity increased by 0.49% in 2023 while that of renewables grew more - by 0.52%.
Taken together, renewable energy sources provided over 22.7% of the nation's electrical generation in 2023, up modestly from 22.4% the year prior. Solar's strong growth, coupled with a 2.3% increase in geothermal power, was offset by a 2.1% drop in power from the nation's wind turbines as well 5.9% less hydropower and an 8.4% fall in biomass-generated electricity.
Nonetheless, renewables strengthened their position as the second largest source of electrical generation, behind only natural gas (42.4%).
"Led by solar, the mix of renewable energy sources have once again expanded their share of the nation's electrical generation," noted the SUN DAY Campaign's executive director Ken Bossong. "They now produce significantly more electricity than either nuclear power or coal and are on track to widen the gap in the year ahead."
Source:
EIA released its latest "Electric Power Monthly" report on February 26, 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 2023 and 2022") as well as Table ES1.A ("Total Electric Power Industry Summary Statistics, 2023 and 2022")
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 assume the inclusion of electrical generation by small-scale solar which EIA estimates to have totaled 73,619 gigawatthours (GWh) in 2023.
[2] In 2023, utility-scale and small-scale solar combined produced 238,120 GWh (5.60% of total U.S. electrical generation) while hydropower produced 239,855 GWh (5.64%).
The SUN DAY Campaign is a non-profit research and educational organization 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. Follow on Twitter (or "X"): @SunDayCampaign
