New US Renewable Energy Record Set: 13% of Total Electric Generation in April

photo: Chrisna via flickr

We still have a long road ahead before renewable energy is the norm in the United States, but according to new data released by the Energy Information Agency, for the 12 month period ending in April 2009 low-carbon electricity set a new record: 9.47% of overall generation, a figure that rose sharply in the beginning of 2009. In fact in April of this year renewable energy contributed 13% to total US electrical generation:Hydropower made up the majority of that (as it historically has) at 8.73%; non-hydro renewables (wind, solar, biomass & geothermal) made up 4.24%, another new record.

Keep in mind that all of this is framed in the context of net electric generation dropping 5% over the past year.

Also worth pointing out is that fossil fuel-generated electricity fell sharply: From April 2008 to April 2009, coal-fired electricity was down 13.9%. Natural gas was down much less noticeably, with a 1.5% decline.

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