From CleanTechnica
1. Solar roars
The year isn’t over, but it’s already clear that it will be another record breaker for US solar. By the end of the third quarter, the country had already chalked up another 16,000 megawatts (MW) of large-scale, commercial, community, and residential solar, according to energy research company Wood Mackenzie (WoodMac). Solar is on pace to far outperform even record-breaking 2020, during which 19,200 MW was installed.
Other metrics of solar’s soaring-ness in 2021: Total US solar installations sailed past the 100,000 MW mark this year. That means there’s enough US solar capacity to generate the equivalent of some 20 million typical households’ electricity use.
And, according to WoodMac, solar accounted for more than half — 54 percent — of new power generating capacity installed in Q1-Q3, Q3 was the first-ever quarter with over 1,000 MW in residential solar installations, and “[o]ne out of every 600 US homeowners is now installing solar each quarter.”
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| Source: CleanTechnica |
2. Wind soars
Land-based wind in the United States is also having a fine year. Through Q3, installers had stood up another 7,300 MW, according to the American Clean Power Association (ACP). That makes the first three quarters of this year the best ever for US wind. And, as with solar, wind’s strong 2021 performance comes on the heels of a record-breaking 2020.
By the end of Q3, the total for US wind capacity had risen to almost 130,000 MW, or enough to meet well over 40 million households’ electricity needs.
3. Even more offshore
Offshore wind, while still early stages in this country, has also been generating all kinds of positive signs and palpable progress in 2021.
The Biden administration threw some important weight behind offshore wind early on this year with its announcement in March of a goal of 30,000 MW by 2030. That’s more offshore wind capacity than Europe, the world leader, has installed so far, and five times what got installed globally during 2020. It also fits well the amount of offshore wind that states have already committed to; having a willing partner for that in the federal government is key.
The administration has demonstrated that willingness with important progress. That includes getting the first two project proposals through the federal permitting process (off Massachusetts and off Rhode Island/Long Island) and moving other projects into the environmental review stages. The administration has also announced seven new areas that they’ll be assessing for possible offshore wind leasing, off the East, West, and Gulf Coasts.
The progress led to the first groundbreaking (or at least sandshoveling) in November, on Cape Cod. Steel in the water (a ways offshore) should be following soon.
4. Renewables add up
The renewable energy progress in recent years is visible not just in the solar arrays on rooftops and wind turbines in fields, but in the electricity generation numbers.
As of September, generation from wind and solar across all sectors was a stunning 15 percent above the total for the same period in 2020, according to the Department of Energy’s Energy Information Administration (EIA). And that’s before all those new megawatts from 2021 have made their presence fully known.
A low year for hydroelectric power has somewhat offset gains in solar and wind, but the EIA is projecting that renewables in total will still account for 20 percent of US electricity supply for 2021, and 22 percent in 2022.
5. Worldwide progress
Progress here at home has been echoed in progress abroad, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA), which noted: “Despite rising costs for key materials used to make solar panels and wind turbines, additions of new renewable power capacity this year are forecast to rise to 290 gigawatts (GW) [290,000 MW] in 2021, surpassing the previous all-time high set last year…”
The IEA called out China, India, and Europe, along with the United States, in particular as markets to watch for serious near-term renewables expansion.
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