Visualizing solar capacity, performance across the US

Solar capacity factors rose across all independent system operators in 2020, pushing the weighted U.S. average up 1.8 percentage points year over year as more than three-quarters of the states housing utility-scale solar projects experienced increases.

The 2020 weighted U.S. solar capacity factor comes in at a calculated 24.4%, based on S&P Global Commodity Insights estimates. The California ISO tops the ISO leaderboard at nearly 27%, but Utah leads the pack across state lines, with solar plants in the Beehive State averaging almost 30%. Wisconsin, meanwhile, logged the largest gains from 2019 to 2020, up an estimated 8.6 percentage points.

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Source: S&P Global

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California ran on nearly 100% clean energy this month

California, which aims to have a carbon-free power grid within 25 years, got a short glimpse of that possibility earlier this month.

The state’s main grid ran on more than 97% renewable energy at 3:39 p.m. on Sunday April 3, breaking a previous record of 96.4% that was set just a week earlier, the California Independent System Operator said Thursday in a statement.

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Source: Bloomberg

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Solar energy production increased by 20 percent in 2021

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In 2021, Americans used 5% more energy than in 2020, according to the most recent energy flow charts released by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL). Last year, Americans used 97.3 quads (quadrillion BTU) of energy, which is 4.4 quads more than last year’s 92.9 quads – equivalent to a 5% increase.

Both 2020 and 2021 annual energy consumption totals are less than 2018 and 2019, where Americans used more than 100 quads per year.

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Source: Solar Industry

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Solar overtakes wind energy for first time in global rush for renewables

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Solar power has overtaken wind for the first time, in the race to develop renewable energy capacity around the globe.

According to the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), solar energy now accounts for 28% of the world’s renewable electricity generation capacity, just ahead of wind with 27%. This time last year, the two were evenly matched at 26% each.

The figures come from the latest Renewable Capacity Statistics report, released by the UAE-based organization on April 11.

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Source: Forbes

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Oil companies are collapsing, but wind and solar energy keep growing

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A few years ago, the kind of double-digit drop in oil and gas prices the world is experiencing now because of the coronavirus pandemic might have increased the use of fossil fuels and hurt renewable energy sources like wind and solar farms.

That is not happening.

In fact, renewable energy sources are set to account for nearly 21 percent of the electricity the United States uses for the first time this year, up from about 18 percent last year and 10 percent in 2010, according to one forecast published last week. And while work on some solar and wind projects has been delayed by the outbreak, industry executives and analysts expect the renewable business to continue growing in 2020 and next year even as oil, gas and coal companies struggle financially or seek bankruptcy protection.

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Source: The New York Times