The United States is set to witness a historic shift in its electricity generation mix in 2023, as non-fossil fuel sources will account for 86% of new electric utility generation capacity, according to the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE).
The DOE announced on Monday that solar, wind, and batteries will dominate the new capacity additions, while coal and natural gas will be mostly retired. Solar photovoltaic (PV) capacity is projected to grow by 39.7 gigawatts (GW) in 2023, accounting for almost half of the new capacity additions. Wind capacity is expected to increase by 12.2 GW in 2023, mostly from offshore wind projects. Battery storage capacity is estimated to rise by 4.3 GW in 2023, more than quadrupling from 2022.
The DOE said that the transition to an electrified transportation sector and the efforts to decarbonize the U.S. power grid are driving the demand for clean energy sources. The Biden administration has pledged to achieve a 100% clean electricity standard by 2035 and a net-zero emissions economy by 2050.
“The U.S. electric power sector is undergoing a profound transformation that is being driven by the rapidly declining costs of wind and solar generation, battery storage, and natural gas-fired generation,” said U.S. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm in a statement.
The DOE’s announcement was based on the latest data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), which publishes monthly and annual reports on the U.S. energy outlook. The EIA’s Annual Energy Outlook 2023, released in March, projected that renewables will surpass natural gas as the primary source of electricity generation in the U.S. by 2030.
The EIA also reported that renewables supplied 65% of new U.S. utility-scale generating capacity in the first quarter of 2023, up from 49% in the same period last year.
The growth of renewable energy and battery storage in the U.S. has implications for the media business, which has a huge opportunity to cover this transition, but also faces many challenges, such as misinformation, polarization, and vested interests.
Zachary Shahan, editor-in-chief of CleanTechnica, a leading online media platform for clean energy news and analysis, told TechCrunch that he sees a lot of potential for media innovation and engagement in this space.
“The media business needs to educate and inform the public about the benefits and challenges of renewable energy and battery storage, as well as the policies and regulations that affect them,” he said. “The media business also needs to showcase the stories and voices of the people and communities that are involved in or impacted by this transition.”
Shahan added that he thinks that renewable energy and battery storage are “the most exciting and important topics of our time” and that they have “a lot of potential for creativity and storytelling”.
One of the key factors in the growth of renewable energy and battery storage is the electrification of transportation, as more consumers and businesses choose electric vehicles (EVs) and invest in charging infrastructure.
David Turk, deputy executive director of the International Energy Agency (IEA), said that EVs are “a critical part of the clean energy transition” and that they have “multiple benefits for energy security, air quality, climate change, and economic development”.
The IEA’s Global EV Outlook 2023, released in June, projected that there will be more than 145 million EVs on the road globally by 2030, up from about 11 million in 2020.
The IEA also said that EVs will require about 6% of global electricity demand by 2030, up from less than 1% in 2020.
Another key factor in the growth of renewable energy and battery storage is the development of offshore wind projects, which have higher capacity factors and lower variability than onshore wind projects.
Gina McCarthy, White House national climate advisor, said that offshore wind is “a game-changer for America’s clean energy future” and that it has “the potential to create tens of thousands of good-paying union jobs, while combating the climate crisis and powering America’s economy”.
The Biden administration has set a goal of deploying 30 GW of offshore wind capacity by 2030, which would generate enough electricity to power more than 10 million American homes.
The DOE said that it expects about 5.8 GW of offshore wind capacity to come online by 2024, with projects in various stages of development along the Atlantic coast.
Seth Weintraub, founder and publisher of Electrek, a popular online media outlet for EVs and renewable energy news, told TechCrunch that he thinks that offshore wind is “a very promising technology” and that he expects it to “grow rapidly in the next decade”.
He also said that he believes that renewables are becoming “a major source of electricity in the U.S. and will continue to outpace fossil fuels in the coming years”.
He said that he hopes that the media business will “report on the facts and the science” and “avoid the political and ideological biases” that often cloud the discussion on renewable energy and battery storage.
Relevant articles:
– 86% of New US Electric Utility Generation Capacity Coming from Non-Fossil Fuels in 2023, CleanTechnica, August 22, 2023
– U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) – Report, U.S. Energy Information Administration, August 8, 2023
– Annual Energy Outlook 2023 – U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), U.S. Energy Information Administration, March 16, 2023
– Renewables supplied 65% of new US utility-scale generating capacity in Q1 2023, Electrek, May 15, 2023