EIA: Solar and wind to lead growth of US power generation for the next two years
In the U.S. Energy Information Administration’s (EIA) latest Short-Term Energy Outlook, it forecasts that wind and solar energy will lead growth in US power generation for the next two years. As a result of new solar projects coming on line this year, the EIA forecasts that US solar power generation will grow 75% from 163 billion kWh in 2023 to 286 billion kWh in 2025, and that wind power generation will grow 11% from 430 billion kWh in 2023 to 476 billion kWh in 2025.
In 2023, the US electric power sector produced 4017 billion kWh of electric power. Renewable sources – wind, solar, hydro, biomass, and geothermal – accounted for 22% of generation, or 874 billion kWh, last year. Annual renewable power generation surpassed nuclear generation for the first time in 2021 and coal generation for the first time in 2022.
In contrast to growing generation from renewables, the EIA forecasts that coal power generation will decline 18% from 665 billion kWh in 2023 to 548 billion kWh in 2025. It forecasts natural gas will continue to be the largest source of US electricity generation, with about 1700 billion kWh of annual generation in 2024 and 2025, similar to 2023, and expects nuclear power generation to stay relatively flat, rising from 776 billion kWh in 2023 to 797 billion kWh in 2025.
New installations of generating capacity support the increase in the renewable generation forecast. Wind and solar developers often bring their projects on line at the end of the calendar year. So, the new capacity tends to affect generation growth trends for the following year. Solar is the fastest-growing renewable source because of the larger capacity additions and favourable tax credits policies. Planned solar projects increase solar capacity operated by the electric power sector 38% from 95 GW at the end of 2023 to 131 GW by the end of 2024. The EIA expects wind capacity to stay relatively flat at 156 GW by the end of 2024, compared with 149 GW in December 2023.
For more news and technical articles from the global renewable industry, read the latest issue of Energy Global magazine.
Energy Global’s Winter 2023 issue
The Winter 2023 issue of Energy Global hosts an array of technical articles weather analysis, geothermal solutions, energy storage technology, and more. This issue also features a regional report looking at the future of renewables in North America, and a report from Théodore Reed-Martin, Editorial Assistant, Energy Global, on how Iceland utilises its unique geology for renewable energy.
Read the article online at: https://www.energyglobal.com/solar/17012024/eia-solar-and-wind-to-lead-growth-of-us-power-generation-for-the-next-two-years/
