Do you know where your electricity comes from? And, no, "the outlet" doesn't count. Do you know the source of the electricity powering your home? If not, here's some good news: Increasingly, the electricity that courses through the U.S. energy grid is generated by renewable sources.
According to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and the U.S. Energy Information Administration, more than 30% of the nation's utility-scale electricity generation capacity comes from renewable energy sources such as solar, wind, biomass, geothermal, and hydropower. In other words, if all power plants in the country operated at full power capacity, 30% of the energy sources would be a blend of those renewables. That number is expected to climb to 37% by 2037, which shows how quickly renewables are proving to be viable in the marketplace.
2024 saw a big jump in renewable energy capacity.
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According to Electrek, through October of last year, solar represented 79% of all newly installed energy capacity. In October 2024 alone, solar was 92% of all newly built capacity. That month also marked more than a year — 14 months in a row — in which solar had been the single biggest part of all new capacity generation in the U.S.
What's more, utility-scale capacity measurements don't account for small-scale solar, including the panels that might be on your roof. Electrek said that if that gets factored in, within three years, renewable energy sources would represent 40% of the nation's energy capacity, dropping natural gas to just 37%.
This likely means big savings for customers because renewables such as solar and wind are far cheaper than fossil fuels, according to a study published in the journal Joule.
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Of course, it also means a massive potential reduction in carbon emissions as renewables begin clawing away even more market share from fossil fuels.
We're already seeing that. In 2024, renewables provided 24% of all electricity generation through the month of October.
"We never expected it would happen overnight," said one commenter on the Electrek story about the potential for renewable energy to surpass fossil fuels.
"This is great news and to be applauded," wrote another.
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