Renewable Energy Generation Continues to Grow (Power Engineering Magazine)
According to the latest "Energy Infrastructure Update" (PDF) report from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC)'s Office of Energy Projects, renewable energy sources – biomass, geothermal, solar, water, wind – accounted for 41.14 percent of new electrical generating capacity installed in October 2012 and 46.22 percent for the first ten months of 2012.
During the first 10 months of 2012, 92 wind projects (5,403 MW), 167 solar projects (1,032 MW), 79 biomass projects (409 MW), seven geothermal projects (123 MW), and nine water power projects (12 MW) have come on line.
Collectively, these total 6979 MW or 46.22 percent of all new generating capacity added since the beginning of the year.
The new renewable energy generating capacity added in 2012 represents a 47.7 percent increase over the level recorded for the same period in 2011, according to FERC. Renewable sources now account for 14.93 percent of total installed U.S. operating generating capacity. Geothermal accounts for 3.62 GW or 0.31% of total capacity.
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