10-year assessment shows renewables will be one-third of U.S. electrical generation in 2030.
EIA’s most recent “Electric Power Monthly” report reveals that renewable energy sources (i.e., biomass, geothermal, hydropower, solar, wind) provided 22.5% of U.S. electrical generation during the first four months of 2021. A decade earlier, during the first four months of 2011, renewables provided 13.75% of electrical production. Thus, over the intervening years, renewables added – on average – a bit less than one percent annually to their share of the nation’s electricity supply.
Almost all the growth can be attributed to wind and solar which expanded from 3.3% in April 2011 (year-to-date) to 13.9% in April 2021 (YTD). Meanwhile, the share of electrical generation attributable to biomass, geothermal, and hydropower combined has remained virtually unchanged, accounting for between a bit less than 9% and a bit more than 10% each year.