Renewable energy outpaces fossil fuel and nuclear growth

RenewableEnergyFocus.com
09 January 2012
By Kari Williamson

Renewable energy sources continue to expand rapidly while substantially outpacing the growth rates of fossil fuels and nuclear power, according to the Monthly Energy Review by the US Energy Information Administration (EIA).

For the first 9 months of 2011, renewable energy sources (i.e., biomass/biofuels, geothermal, solar, water, wind) provided 11.95% of domestic US energy production. That compares to 10.85% for the same period in 2010 and 10.33% in 2009. By comparison, nuclear power provided just 10.62% of the nation's energy production in the first three quarters of 2011 - i.e., 11.10% less than renewable energy.

Looking at all energy sectors (e.g., electricity, transportation, thermal), renewable energy output, including hydropower, grew by 14.44% in 2011 compared to 2010. Among the renewable energy sources, conventional hydropower provided 4.35% of domestic energy production during the first 9 months of 2011, followed by biomass (3.15%), biofuels (2.57%), wind (1.45%), geothermal (0.29%), and solar (0.15%).

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