New reports reveal that clean energy is growing rapidly in the U.S. with solar, in particular, lighting it up.
SUN DAY Campaign, a nonprofit focused on renewable energy, broke down the encouraging data from two reports released by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and the U.S. Energy Information Administration, with Solar Power World sharing the biggest takeaways.
The topline data point might be that clean energy sources like solar and wind now account for over 30% of total U.S. utility-scale electrical generating capacity.
Fueling that growth is solar, which represented 76.9% of new electrical generation put into service in the first seven months of 2024. That figure pushed renewables to almost 90% of all added electrical capacity.
Solar is on track to become the second-largest source of generating capacity by August 1, 2027, if the growth trends continue. Solar is projected to represent 15% of the nation's utility-scale generating capacity, per Solar Power World. That would trail only natural gas (40.3%).
Those projections for solar would help push renewables' combined total to 36.5% of the U.S. generating capacity and under 4% short of natural gas' total. Notably, those numbers don't include rooftop solar.
When including rooftop's electrical generation, Solar Power World reports that renewables would pass natural gas in installed capacity by August 2027.
The overall trends of the reports are great news in the move away from dirty energy. Burning fossil fuels contributes to the warming of the planet that is reaching dangerous levels and inevitably releases toxic chemicals into the air that pose a public health hazard. That warming, including of the oceans, intensifies extreme weather events like Hurricane Helene with devastating consequences.
Green energy harnesses the potential to power the country while drastically cutting pollution and the warming of the planet. It also plays a key role in boosting grid resilience and energy security.
🗣️ Will America someday get all its energy from renewable sources?
🔘 Yes — very soon ☀️
🔘 Yes — by 2050 ⏰
🔘 Yes — by 2070 ⏳
🔘 Probably never ❌
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Although the U.S. trails countries like Great Britain in clean energy, growth in this area should be commended. Many of the Inflation Reduction Act's big investments in the area are bearing fruit.
Speaking along those lines, SUN DAY Campaign executive director Ken Bossong cautioned that "future growth may depend heavily on the results of the November elections."
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