Evwind, News Menu, Other renewables, System Operator, Wind Energy

86% of New US Electric Utility Generation Capacity Coming from Non-Fossil Fuels in 2023

Amid the transition to an electrified transportation sector, efforts to decarbonize the U.S. power grid are evident in the planned additions and retirement of utility-scale electricity generating capacity. For 2023, added capacity will come primarily from solar (52%) and wind (13%), while batteries for stored energy will provide 17% of the new capacity.

Natural gas is the only fossil fuel type contributing to new capacity and will account for 14% of the total. In contrast, nearly 100% of the capacity being retired is based on fossil fuel, led by coal (62%) and natural gas (36%). A total of 56.1 gigawatts (GW) of new capacity is being added and 14.5 GW of current capacity are being retired for a net gain of 41.6 GW in capacity.

Notes:

  • Net summer capacity.
  • Utility-scale electricity capacity is measured for electric power plants with at least one megawatt of total electricity generation capacity.
  • “Other” on the ADDITIONS chart includes biomass, petroleum liquids, conventional hydroelectric, geothermal, and landfill gas.
  • “Other” on the RETIREMENTS chart includes landfill gas, conventional hydroelectric, and wood/wood waste biomass.

Fact #1304 Dataset

Courtesy of U.S. DOE’s Vehicle Technologies Office. Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Electric Power Monthly, February 2023, Tables 6.5 and 6.6.

?

I don’t like paywalls. You don’t like paywalls. Who likes paywalls? Here at CleanTechnica, we implemented a limited paywall for a while, but it always felt wrong — and it was always tough to decide what we should put behind there. In theory, your most exclusive and best content goes behind a paywall. But then fewer people read it! We just don’t like paywalls, and so we’ve decided to ditch ours.Unfortunately, the media business is still a tough, cut-throat business with tiny margins. It’s a never-ending Olympic challenge to stay above water or even perhaps — gasp — grow. So …

If you like what we do and want to support us, please chip in a bit monthly to help our team do what we do! Thank you!

Sign up for daily news updates from CleanTechnica on email. Or follow us on Google News!

 ?

Have a tip for CleanTechnica, want to advertise, or want to suggest a guest for our CleanTech Talk podcast? Contact us here.