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bananas

(27,509 posts)
Tue Apr 2, 2013, 01:45 AM Apr 2013

U.S. Renewable Energy Production Now Tops Nuclear Power

Source: National Journal

... New data released yesterday from the U.S. Energy Information Administration offers a snapshot of the energy landscape in Obama’s first term.



Energy production from natural gas grew 16% while coal-fired power fell more than 4%, thanks to a glut of cheap natural gas from the fracking boom. It’s a trend likely to continue as shale gas reserves are tapped and new emissions regulations effectively bar the construction of new coal-fired power plants.

Renewable energy production jumped nearly 24% but remains only 11% of the US’ total energy production. But the trend lines tell the story: Wind energy, for instance, grew 89% while electricity production from nuclear power plants fell 4%.

And this factoid should warm the hearts of anti-nuke activists: The US now gets more energy from renewable sources - wind, solar, hydro, geothermal, and biomass—than it does from nuclear power plants.

<snip>

Read more: http://mobile.nationaljournal.com/energy/u-s-renewable-energy-production-now-tops-nuclear-power-20130401

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U.S. Renewable Energy Production Now Tops Nuclear Power (Original Post) bananas Apr 2013 OP
Well, that's a bit of good news Art_from_Ark Apr 2013 #1
Exactly, not a complete picture. elleng Apr 2013 #2
Petroleum would be well above the other lines at around 35 quads. NYC_SKP Apr 2013 #3
Coal production remains on the increase. joshcryer Apr 2013 #6
No new nukes in Georgia!!! grahamhgreen Apr 2013 #4
Most of that is hydroelectric and ethanol caraher Apr 2013 #5
Message auto-removed tom2255 Apr 2013 #7
Distributed power is a hassle zipplewrath Apr 2013 #8

Art_from_Ark

(27,247 posts)
1. Well, that's a bit of good news
Tue Apr 2, 2013, 01:54 AM
Apr 2013

From that graph, however, it looks like fossil fuels are still firmly in the driver's seat. And where is petroleum on that graph?

joshcryer

(62,265 posts)
6. Coal production remains on the increase.
Tue Apr 2, 2013, 08:20 AM
Apr 2013

Coal utilization is going down and being replaced with natural gas and renewables (primarily wind).

We're exporting the coal (and once the ports are ready, we'll be exporting a lot of it).

So our contribution to global warming as a factor of our economy is not changing at all.

It's just being exported, just as our technology imports are really contributing to pollution elsewhere.

caraher

(6,276 posts)
5. Most of that is hydroelectric and ethanol
Tue Apr 2, 2013, 08:03 AM
Apr 2013

Wind and solar combined are less than a quarter of the "renewable" total. So the quip in the linked article about Monty Burns becoming a wind farm magnate notwithstanding, these numbers are close only because half the "renewable" total comes from using petroleum-intensive agricultural techniques to produce fuel instead of food.

Their data all comes from the EIA's latest monthly report, if you'd like to dig deeper.

Response to bananas (Original post)

zipplewrath

(16,646 posts)
8. Distributed power is a hassle
Tue Apr 2, 2013, 09:13 AM
Apr 2013

Remember, these homeowners you want to have solar cells on their roofs hire folks to clean their pools and mow their lawns. They don't want the hassle for the marginal cost savings they would experience. Heck, look at what people drive instead of more fuel efficient cars. And the electric companies don't have much interest in a system of cells highly distributed that they would either have to maintain, or rely upon the homeowner to maintain. And I'm not sure who is carrying the capital costs of these things, probably a mixture of the homeowner and the utility company.

I suspect if there is a market for this it will be among "light industry". Companies with moderate power consumption and large facilities that would benefit from the cost savings of both the electricity and the added insulative benefit. Cells are now becoming cheap enough, and durable enough, that we may see someone package such a concept. (Woulda been nice if something along these lines had been incorporated into the "freedom towers".)

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