United States overall energy consumption grew to 97.3 quadrillion Btu in 2013, a 2.4% increase from 2012. Energy consumption from coal and renewables grew slightly, while consumption from petroleum and natural gas fell slightly. A few key findings in the book include:
- United States electric power sector energy consumption grew to 38.4 quadrillion Btu in 2013, a 0.6% increase from 2012.
- Renewable electricity grew to nearly 15% of total installed capacity and 13% of total electricity generation in the United States in 2013. Installed renewable electricity capacity exceeded 171 gigawatts (GW) in 2013, generating 534 TWh.
- In 2013 in the United States, solar electricity was the fastest growing electricity generation technology, with cumulative installed capacity increasing by nearly 66% from the previous year.
- In the United States, wind electricity generation increased 20% in 2013, while wind electricity capacity grew 1.8%.
- In the United States, renewable electricity has been capturing a growing percentage of new capacity additions during the past few years. In 2013, renewable electricity accounted for more than 61% of all new electricity capacity installations in the United States. By comparison, renewable electricity captured 4% of new capacity additions in 2004 and 57% in 2008.
- The installed global renewable electricity capacity more than doubled between 2000 and 2013, and comprises 27% of the total electricity capacity globally, representing a significant and growing portion of the total energy supply.
- Worldwide, solar photovoltaics (PV) and concentrated solar power (CSP) are among the fastest growing renewable electricity technologies—between 2000 and 2013, solar electricity generation worldwide increased by a factor of nearly 68.
- Biodiesel was the fastest growing biofuel type, with production increasing by 64% in the United States and 17% globally, from a relatively small base.
In particular for wind:
- In the United States, wind electricity experienced limited growth, with only 1.1 GW of new capacity added, a 92% reduction from the record-setting 13.1 GW installed in 2012. This drop can be attributed largely to a late extension of and modified eligibility requirements for the federal production tax credit (PTC).
- At the end of 2013, there was more U.S. wind power capacity under construction than at any time previously: construction activity was started on more than 10.9 GW during the fourth quarter, resulting in a total pipeline of 12.0 GW of projects under construction.
- China continued in 2013 to lead the world in cumulative installed wind capacity, with more than 91 GW installed as of the end of 2013.
- Global cumulative installed offshore wind capacity surpassed 7 GW in 2013. While projects have been proposed, no commercial offshore wind turbines have yet been commissioned in the United States.
For the full report: http://goo.gl/xgs58E
NREL
www.nrel.org
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