Filed under: EV/Plug-in, USA



For electric vehicle drivers concerned about "dirty coal" taking away the environmental benefits of electrified transportation, we've found some good news. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) has just released its annual report on sources of new energy capacity for domestic electric power plants. Renewable energy accounted for 37.16 percent of new power plant capacity. Natural gas dominated new capacity at 52 percent last year, while old king coal dropped down to just around 11 percent of new capacity. Given the historical make-up of the grid in the US, coal still produced more electricity last year than renewable energy, but FERC's report shows the potential for green energy to play a bigger role in the future.

The latest Energy Infrastructure Update report from the FERC's Office of Energy Projects says that renewable energy (i.e., solar, wind, biomass, geothermal and hydropower) accounted for 5,279 megawatts (MW) of new capacity during calendar year 2013. Solar was the leading renewable energy at 2,936 MW, with 266 new "units" (output power of power plant generators) in 2013; wind was the second highest renewable source at 1,129 MW and 18 units; biomass had 777 MW and 97 new units; water had 378 MW and 19 new units; geothermal steam had 59 MW and four new units.
Not long ago, coal made up more than half of power plant energy generated in the US, but that's been changing as natural gas has taken off and renewables start to grow. Last year, natural gas produced 51.17 percent of new power capacity at 7,270 MW; that was followed by renewable energy at 5,279 MW; then by coal at 1,543 MW and 10.86 percent of the total; waste heat came in at 76 MW (0.53 percent) and oil at 38 MW (0.27 percent). Nuclear energy is included in the report but it appears to be shrinking in its share of the electric grid, producing zero percent of new MW last year. See the press release below for more on the FERC's report.Continue reading Despite coal's dominance, renewables making gains in US

Despite coal's dominance, renewables making gains in US originally appeared on AutoblogGreen on Wed, 29 Jan 2014 12:06:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.



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