U.S. Renewable Generation Doubles in 10 Years Driven by Wind and Solar Additions: EIA

Renewables generated a record 742 million megawatt-hours (MWh) of electricity in 2018, almost double the 382 million MWh produced in 2008, accounting for 17.6% of electricity generation in the United States last year, according to the Energy Information Administration’s Electric Power Monthly. About 90 percent of renewable capacity additions were wind and solar, largely driven by federal and state policies in combination with declining costs for the booming technologies.

• Wind generation went up from 55 million MWh in 2008 to 275 million MWh in 2018, now representing about 6.5 percent of total electricity generation and just short of surpassing conventional hydroelectric which sits at 6.9 percent.
• Small and utility-scale solar generation increased from 2 million MWh in 2008 to 96 million MWh in 2018, accounting for 2.3 percent of U.S. electricity generation in 2018. About 69 percent of solar generation came from large scale solar farms.
• Federal policies such as the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act of 2009 and the Production Tax Credit and Investment Tax Credits for wind and solar have boosted project development across the nation. In addition, policies at the state level such as renewable portfolio standards have also contributed to the rise of renewables.