Despite this development, fossil fuels dominate US electrical energy. A 3% improve in whole electrical energy era throughout the US is anticipated to be served primarily by photo voltaic, says a report from the Energy Information Administration (EIA).
The US Energy Information Administration (EIA) has launched its Short-Term Energy Outlook reportwhich predicts that whole electrical energy era capability within the United States will improve by 3% in 2024 and 1% in 2025.
“Renewable vitality sources—particularly photo voltaic—will provide most of that development,” the EIA mentioned.
Solar, wind, and hydropower by 2023 mixed will account for practically 21% of electrical energy era within the United States. The EIA expects this determine to develop to 24% by 2025.
Solar is the primary driver of the vitality transition. The EIA says photo voltaic will present 41% extra electrical energy in 2024 than in 2023. The EIA mentioned 19 GW of photo voltaic capability added by 2023 and greater than 37 GW anticipated this 12 months will account for the large generational leap. By 2025, whole photo voltaic era is anticipated to develop by one other 25%.
“By 2025, we anticipate era from photo voltaic to exceed the contribution from hydroelectricity for the primary 12 months in historical past,” mentioned EIA Administrator Joe DeCarolis.
US electrical energy era is anticipated to extend to 114 billion kWh (3% development), by 2024, with 60% of this development served by utility-scale photo voltaic. Among different renewable sources, wind contributes 19% of 2024 electrical energy development, and hydropower contributes 13%, says EIA.
Solar additionally actively reduces the quantity of pure fuel burned for electrical energy within the United States. “The availability of extra electrical energy era from renewable sources, particularly photo voltaic, in 2024 in comparison with 2023 limits pure fuel consumption development past 2023 ranges,” EIA mentioned.
Despite the forecast for 3% electrical energy development this 12 months, the EIA mentioned “… we forecast that pure fuel consumption within the electrical energy sector will probably be about the identical as final summer time, which noticed the biggest consumption within the electrical energy sector recorded.”
However, photo voltaic and different renewables have an extended method to go if the United States is to succeed in its targets of a decarbonized financial system. An estimated 6% of the United States’ gross home product (GDP) is spent on vitality, the EIA mentioned. In whole, practically 5 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide are emitted by US vitality sources as we speak, and the EIA doesn’t predict a significant discount in emissions till 2025.
Currently, pure fuel is the biggest supply of electrical energy era, contributing 42% of the vitality combine, and it’s anticipated to stay comparatively flat till 2025. The second most typical era supply is coal at 17% in 2023, which is anticipated to lower to 14% in 2025. Wind contributes about 11%, whereas photo voltaic is anticipated to rise from about 4% to about 7% of the whole vitality combine in 2025.
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