In the first half of 2016, renewable energy other than hydropower – meaning wind power, solar power (including distributed, rooftop stuff), geothermal and biomass – produced a whopping 9.2 percent of all U.S. electricity production.
That’s not chicken feed, folks. And it’s not a niche market any more. We’re still far from a post-fossil-fuel electric world, that possibility no longer looks like sci-fi silliness.
Add hydropower, by the way, and the renewable tally is more than one-sixth of all electricity. This doesn’t include nuclear power, incidentally.
One statistical point: Part of the reason that renewables’ percentage is rising so fast is that total electricity usage is stagnant, due partly to efficiency and smarter use of resources (i.e., “nega-watts”). Renewables are largely replacing coal-fired power, which is shrinking at a surprisingly fast rate.
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