Renewable Energy Continues to Gain Momentum as Significant US Power Source
A lot of people want to use the out of date argument that Renewable Energy (RE) Technologies do not hold their weight in the energy industry. Well that argument is, in fact, outdated. The advances made in the past few years in this industry have made renewable energy gain steady footing in the world of heat and power. Renewable Energy provides the US with nearly 14% of its energy supply, The entire nuclear fleet in the US only produced 19%. Also in 2014, 22% of the United States’ electricity consumed was from a renewable energy source (instituteforenergyresearch.org) This shows how renewable energy is quickly catching up to the big boys. Expert projections also show very promising numbers with wind expected to increase 13% this year and an additional 11% in 2016. Solar is expected to increase by 84% in 2016.
(sourced from http://breakingenergy.com) The above chart shows the increase by RE Technology for the past 13 years.
Another factor that will aid in the significance and establishment of renewable technology as a major power source is the increased investment. In 2014 alone, the United States invested $51.8 billion in clean energy, a number expected to increase, according to the Business Council for Sustainable Energy. Studies show that investment in renewable energy has increase 250% since 2004 (www.americanprogress.org). This investment aided by incentives and continued research and development will continue to make the various technologies more affordable and available to the American consumer, allowing RE to grow its influence on the US energy market.
