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Nathan Temple
  • Member since 2018
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Renewable Energy Projects Show Strength in 2011

  • May 10, 2011 1:29 am GMT
  • 406 views

2011 and 2012 are looking to be good years for renewable energy.  Proposed installation and current construction numbers are very encouraging.  Federal loan guarantees have picked up momentum as described in a previous post: http://powertrends.blogspot.com/2011/05/recent-renewable-federal-loan.html 

According to the numbers shown by the SEIA – Solar Energy Industries Association there is a considerable effort afoot.
 
Type
Operating
Under construction
Under Development
Total
Concentrating Solar
508 MW
679 MW
8,307 MW
9,494 MW
Photovoltaic
296 MW
274 MW
16,688 MW
17,258 MW

According to the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA), the U.S. wind power industry installed 1,100 megawatts (MW) of new capacity in the first quarter of 2011 and entered the second quarter with another 5,600 MW under construction. The under-construction figure is nearly twice the megawatts that the industry reported at the same time in both 2009 and 2010. The total U.S. wind fleet capacity now stands at 41,400 MW, which is enough to supply 10 million homes.

The first quarter’s new capacity came online in 12 different states, with some seeing double-digit growth. The states adding the most capacity were Minnesota (293 MW), Washington (252 MW), and Illinois (240 MW). AWEA reported that one third of the 5,600 MW currently under construction is located in California, Oregon, and Washington. See the AWEA press release.

Net Generation Comparison Jan 2011 vs. Jan 2010 (source):

Items
Total (All Sectors)
Jan-11
Jan-10
% Change
Net Generation (thousand megawatthours)
Coal[1] 
171,246
173,505
-1.3
Petroleum Liquids[2] 
1,840
3,171
-42
Petroleum Coke
1,448
1,130
28.1
Natural Gas[3] 
74,070
73,558
0.7
Other Gases[4] 
923
909
1.5
Nuclear
72,743
72,569
0.2
Hydroelectric Conventional
25,746
22,156
16.2
Other Renewables
14,966
13,077
14.4
Wood and Wood-Derived Fuels[5]
3,167
3,248
-2.5
Other Biomass[6] 
1,432
1,482
-3.4
Geothermal
1,435
1,373
4.6
Solar Thermal and Photovoltaic[7] 
43
10
343.2
Wind
8,888
6,965
27.6
Hydroelectric Pumped Storage
-426
-537
20.6
Other Energy Sources[8] 
824
863
-4.6
All Energy Sources
363,378
360,401
0.8
[1] Anthracite, bituminous, subbituminous, lignite, waste coal, and coal synfuel. 
[2] Distillate fuel oil, residual fuel oil, jet fuel, and kerosene. 
[3] Natural gas includes a small amount of supplemental gaseous fuels that cannot be identified separately. 
[4] Blast furnace gas, propane gas, and other manufactured and waste gases derived from fossil fuels. 
[5] Wood, black liquor, and other wood waste. 
[6] Biogenic municipal solid waste, landfill gas, sludge waste, agriculture byproducts, and other biomass. 
[7] Solar thermal and photovoltaic energy. 
[8] Non-biogenic municipal solid waste, batteries, chemicals, hydrogen, pitch, purchased steam, sulfur, tire-derived fuel, and miscellaneous technologies. 
[9] Anthracite, bituminous, subbituminous, coal synfuel, and lignite; excludes waste coal. 
[10] Retail sales and net generation may not correspond exactly for a particular month for a variety of reasons (e.g., sales data may include imported electricity).  Net generation is for the calendar month while retail sales and associated revenue accumulate from bills collected for periods of time (28 to 35 days) that vary dependent upon customer class and consumption occurring in and outside the calendar month. 
[11] See Technical notes for additional information on the Commercial, Industrial, and Transportation sectors. 
Year to Year Net Generation-Renewables (source):
(Thousand Megawatthours)
Period
Wind
Solar Thermal
Wood and Wood-Derived Fuels[1] 
Geothermal
Other
Total
and Photovoltaic
Biomass[2] 
(Other Renewables)
1997
3,288
511
36,948
14,726
21,709
77,183
1998
3,026
502
36,338
14,774
22,448
77,088
1999
4,488
495
37,041
14,827
22,572
79,423
2000
5,593
493
37,595
14,093
23,131
80,906
2001
6,737
543
35,200
13,741
14,548
70,769
2002
10,354
555
38,665
14,491
15,044
79,109
2003
11,187
534
37,529
14,424
15,812
79,487
2004
14,144
575
38,117
14,811
15,421
83,067
2005
17,811
550
38,856
14,692
15,420
87,329
2006
26,589
508
38,762
14,568
16,099
96,525
2007
34,450
612
39,014
14,637
16,525
105,238
2008
55,363
864
37,300
14,840
17,734
126,101
2009
73,886
891
36,050
15,009
18,443
144,279
2010
94,647
1,299
37,975
15,666
18,557
168,144
2011 through January
8,888
43
3,167
1,435
1,432
14,966
[1] Wood/wood waste solids (including paper pellets, railroad ties, utility poles, wood chips, bark, and wood waste solids), wood waste liquids (red liquor, sludge wood, spent sulfite liquor, and other wood-based liquids), and black liquor. 
[2] Biogenic municipal solid waste, landfill gas, sludge waste, agricultural byproducts, other biomass solids, other biomass liquids, and other biomass gases (including digester gases, methane, and other biomass gases). 
Extra Credit:  Using 2008 generation and installed capacity one can determine capacity factor for power generation sources in 2008.  Simple calculation with no assumptions just installed versus generated. (data source):
Wind  = 25%
Solar  = 18%
Nuclear  = 87%
Coal  = 67%
Natural Gas  = 22%


Nathan Temple's picture

Thank Nathan for the Post!

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