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Renewable Energy Projects Show Strength in 2011
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
| 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) | |||||
| 171,246 | 173,505 | -1.3 | |||
| 1,840 | 3,171 | -42 | |||
| Petroleum Coke | 1,448 | 1,130 | 28.1 | ||
| 74,070 | 73,558 | 0.7 | |||
| 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 | ||
| 1,432 | 1,482 | -3.4 | |||
| Geothermal | 1,435 | 1,373 | 4.6 | ||
| 43 | 10 | 343.2 | |||
| Wind | 8,888 | 6,965 | 27.6 | ||
| Hydroelectric Pumped Storage | -426 | -537 | 20.6 | ||
| 824 | 863 | -4.6 | |||
| All Energy Sources | 363,378 | 360,401 | 0.8 | ||
| [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. | |||||
| (Thousand Megawatthours) | ||||||
| Period | Wind | Solar Thermal | Wood and Wood-Derived Fuels[1] | Geothermal | Other | Total |
| and Photovoltaic | (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 |
Wind = 25%
Solar = 18%
Nuclear = 87%
Coal = 67%
Natural Gas = 22%
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