BusinessGreen: Coal on the slide (down 13.9%) as renewables top 11 per cent of US power mix

[OKIsItJustMe]

http://www.businessgreen.com/business-green/news/2246344/renewables-top-per-cent-power

Coal on the slide as renewables top 11 per cent of US power mix

As a raft of states pass new legislation demanding increased renewables capacity, new figures confirm green power now accounts for over a tenth of US energy

Cath Everett, BusinessGreen, 20 Jul 2009

The renewable energy revolution under way in the US appears to be gathering pace according to new figures from the http://www.eia.doe.gov/">Energy Information Administration suggesting that zero carbon energy sources are successfully replacing fossil fuel-based forms of energy production.

According to the Administration's July http://www.eia.doe.gov/cneaf/electricity/epm/epm_sum.html?featureclicked=3&">Electric Power Monthly report, green energy generation accounted for 11.1 per cent of total electricity production in the country between April 2008 and 2009.

Input from hydroelectric sources rose 18.4 per cent to make up seven per cent of the total, while other renewables such as solar, wind, biomass and geothermal sources now account for 4.1 per cent. Wind power was the biggest success story in the renewables sector with net generation increasing by over a third.

The figures compared with a 13.9 per cent fall in coal-fired generation, although it still provided 46.1 per cent of the US' electric power and remains the biggest single source.

…

[NickB79]

1. Why are they using "energy" and "electricity" interchangeably?

"As a raft of states pass new legislation demanding increased renewables capacity, new figures confirm green power now accounts for over a tenth of US energy."

snip

"According to the Administration's July Electric Power Monthly report, green energy generation accounted for 11.1 per cent of total electricity production in the country between April 2008 and 2009."

They are not the same thing. US energy demands would include transportation and heating fuels as well as electricity consumption.

[GliderGuider]

2. In 2007 renewables actually provided 6.6% of all energy used in the USA

http://www.eia.doe.gov/cneaf/alternate/page/renew_energy_consump/table1.html

Bu confusing "energy" and "electricity" the OP makes the picture seem rosier than it is, by surreptitiously factoring out transportation fuels and natural gas used for residential or process heat.

In 2007 fossil fuels still provided 85% of the energy used in the USA, while nuclear power provided 8.3%. Wind provided 0.31%, while solar of all types provided 0.08% (that's three orders of magnitude less than the energy from fossil fuels).

[Fledermaus]

3. Renewable energy replacing fossil fuel? Never!

:evilgrin: