The United States consumed a record amount of renewable energy in 2020
In 2020, consumption of renewable energy in the United States grew for the fifth year in a row, reaching a record high of 11.6 quadrillion British thermal units (Btu), or 12% of total U.S. energy consumption. Renewable energy was the only source of U.S. energy consumption that increased in 2020 from 2019; fossil fuel and nuclear consumption declined.
Wind energy, or electricity generated by wind-powered turbines, is almost exclusively consumed in the electric power sector. Wind energy accounted for about 26% of U.S. renewable energy consumption in 2020. Wind surpassed hydroelectricity in 2019 to become the single most-consumed source of renewable energy on an annual basis. In 2020, U.S. wind energy consumption grew 14% from 2019.
Hydroelectric power, or electricity generated by water-powered turbines, is almost exclusively consumed in the electric power sector. It accounted for about 22% of U.S. renewable energy consumption in 2020. U.S. hydropower consumption has remained relatively flat since the 1970s, but it fluctuates with seasonal rainfall and drought conditions.
Wood and waste energy, including wood, wood pellets, and biomass waste from landfills, accounted for about 22% of U.S. renewable energy consumption in 2020. Industrial, commercial, and electric power facilities use wood and waste as a fuel to generate electricity, produce heat, and manufacture goods.
Biofuels, including fuel ethanol, biodiesel, and other renewable fuels, accounted for about 17% of U.S. renewable energy consumption in 2020. U.S. biofuel consumption fell 11% from 2019 as overall transportation sector energy use declined in the United States during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Solar energy accounted for about 11% of U.S. renewable energy consumption in 2020. Solar photovoltaic (PV) cells, including rooftop panels, and solar thermal power plants use sunlight to generate electricity. Some residential and commercial buildings use solar heating systems to heat water and the building. Overall, 2020 U.S. solar consumption increased 22% from 2019.
In other news.
New Jersey regulators have awarded development rights for nearly 2.7 gigawatts of offshore wind power capacity to separate projects headed by Danish wind giant Ørsted and a venture between Shell and France's EDF.
The big picture: The New Jersey Board of Public Utilities awards bring the project pipeline off the state's coast to over 3.7 gigawatts, the agency said. This includes a separate, previously approved Ørsted project.
Why it matters: It's the latest move in efforts by East Coast states, federal officials and deep-pocketed energy giants to build large-scale offshore projects in the U.S., which has lagged far behind Europe in marine wind but now has a significant project pipeline.
By the numbers: The state regulators said the newly approved capacity, if indeed built, would create enough electricity to power almost 1.2 million homes and generate 7,000 full and or part-time jobs across its various phases.
Development timelines, however, are not short. Per Windpower Monthly's coverage, the projects will come online in the 2027-2029 timeframe.
Biden’s EPA.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has withdrawn a 2020 rule that would allow a radioactive substance in some road construction.
The October 2020 rule allowed the use of phosphogypsum, a substance generated by phosphate fertilizer production. The waste product is kept in 13 predominantly southeastern states, where the majority of the construction would have occurred.
Between 1989 and the Trump-era rule, the EPA required that all phosphogypsum be stored in “stacks” that experts and activists said would release dangerous amounts of radon gas if dispersed. In Florida alone, 1 billion tons of the substance are stored in 25 stacks, one of which recently leaked millions of gallons into a wastewater reservoir near Tampa Bay.
In a memo dated June 30, EPA Administrator Michael Regan specifically addresses the Oct. 14, 2020, letter from the agency approving a request from the Fertilizer Institute to use the stacks for road construction.
Regan wrote that the agency “does not believe it can be reasonably contended” that the request for approval of phosphogypsum complied with federal regulations.
“The request generally described the type of road construction that might be undertaken but identified no actual road construction project and gave little specific, particularized information about the proposed use,” he wrote, adding that the request further did not provide sufficient information about how any of the substance that was not used would be disposed of.
As a result, Regan wrote, the EPA rescinded the approval of the “broad, generalized request” to use the substance in road construction.
The Center for Biological Diversity, one of several environmental groups that sued over the rule in December, hailed the decision in a statement Thursday.
“Allowing phosphogypsum in roads was a boneheaded, short-sighted favor to the industry,” Jaclyn Lopez, Florida director at the Center for Biological Diversity, said in a statement. “While the withdrawal cites technical deficiencies in the applicant’s petition, this action is consistent with 30 years of science showing that phosphogypsum poses a substantial risk to humans and the environment.”
Just because.