Remove Fossil Fuels Remove Solar Power Remove Technology Remove Wind Power
article thumbnail

Good News—and Bad—about Fossil Fuel Power Plants in 2023 

Union of Concerned Scientists

Solar power is expected to make up about half of all additions of US electric generating capacity in 2023, according to data from the US Energy Information Administration (EIA). gigawatts (GW) of planned solar projects expected to come online this year is almost double the previous 13.4 Solar” only includes large-scale solar.

article thumbnail

In the Race for Clean Energy, the United States is Both a Leader and a Laggard—Here’s How

Union of Concerned Scientists

Announcing recently that the world broke a record by generating 30 percent of all electricity from renewable sources in 2023, the British think tank Ember said the data proves we are in a “new era” of energy in which a permanent decline in fossil fuels is “inevitable.” More on that shortly. But first, the undeniably good news.

Insiders

Sign Up for our Newsletter

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

article thumbnail

How Much Land Would it Require to Get Most of Our Electricity from Wind and Solar?

Union of Concerned Scientists

A recent National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) study shows that it would take less than 1 percent of the land in the Lower 48—that’s an area comparable to or even smaller than the fossil fuel industry’s current footprint. EIA also projects US battery storage capacity to more than double in 2023.

article thumbnail

Renewables Have Pulled Ahead of Coal. What’s Next?

Union of Concerned Scientists

Here’s a taste: Wind power , the largest single source of renewable electricity in the country, grew the most of any renewable energy source in overall generation from 2021 to 2022. Solar power increased the most among renewable electricity sources in percentage terms, up 24 percent. It supplied 10.5 percentage points).*

article thumbnail

Ask a Scientist: The US Has to Do More to Meet Its Carbon Emissions Reduction Goals

Union of Concerned Scientists

The legislation committed nearly $400 billion to support, among other things, wind and solar power, battery storage, electric vehicles, and other clean energy technologies that will make a significant dent in US heat-trapping emissions. It also will save US consumers money because they will spend less on fossil fuels.

article thumbnail

Building a Better Power Grid for Minnesota

Union of Concerned Scientists

Minnesotans are facing concurrent crises of climate change, high energy prices and inflation, and the inequitable public health impacts of fossil fuel air pollution. Renewable energy will help with all of that—but we need a grid that is designed for wind and solar instead of having to rely on expensive coal and gas plants.

article thumbnail

Oil majors are eying up renewable energy projects

A Greener Life

In order to make their portfolio more sustainable and respond to lower fossil fuel demand, oil majors are increasingly snapping up renewable energy projects as the pressure grows to take action on climate change. This has incentivized oil and gas majors such as BP, Equinor and Shell to invest in wind power generation.