What Renewable Energy is Being Used in the USA?
Jan 7, 2008 - The pie chart below shows the different renewable energy sources that are being used in the USA in 2007, courtesy of the US Department of Energy.
This is the sorry current state of affairs with respect to renewable energy in the USA: 7%. Add another 8% for nuclear power, of which not everybody is a fan. It does provide 80% of the electricity in France. Hydroelectricity produces 36% of the renewable 7%. This has built up over decades as the US has built dams with power stations. In 2007, solar energy only represented 1% of the 7% and wind energy is at 5% of the 7%. Hopefully, President-elect Barack Obama’s alternative energy stimulus plan will be put in effect quickly so that these numbers will increase over the next 4 years and beyond. Then, we can expect to see more publicly traded solar power companies and their stocks should continue to climb even if the price of oil doesn’t. Please comment on which renewable energy source you believe will be the largest beneficiary of the stimulus package.
And here we go again!We can’t take another year like this past.The high cost of gas seriously damaged our economy.I just read a profound book called The Manhattan Project of 2009 by Jeff Wilson. Among the things I learned that fascinated me is that it would cost the equivalent of 60 cents per gallon to charge and drive an electric car. If all gasoline cars, trucks, and SUV’s instead had plug-in electric drive trains, the amount of electricity needed to replace gasoline is about equal to the estimated wind energy potential of the state of North Dakota. Why don’t we use some of the billions in bail out money to bail us out of our dependence on foreign oil? http://www.themanhattanprojectof2009.com I say drill our own oil and get started on getting renewable sources of energy set up. Oil is finite, it will run out one day in the not too distant future. We should never allow other countries to have tha much power over our economy.
Renewable Energy Reality: Coal
by David Fessler,
The Obama administration has made a big deal about renewable energy. Over the next several years, the new President has plans to spend roughly $150 billion promoting and enabling its growth. And with $700 billion flowing from the United States into OPEC’s pockets every year, I don’t think you’ll get much of an argument from anyone about the timeliness or the need for renewables.
But even with massive amounts of capital investment – and widespread adoption by utilities and end users – renewable energy will still only account for roughly 10% of world energy output by 2030, an increase of only three percentage points from today’s estimated 7% contribution. Depending on whom you talk to, however, that estimate is wildly optimistic.
The stark reality of worldwide energy production is a dirty, four-letter word: coal. Since the beginning of the 21st century, its worldwide consumption has outpaced any other fuel source, growing nearly 5% per year. This, too, in the face of prices that have escalated every year since 2000.
Consider 97% of that growth has occurred in emerging market countries, most notably China and India. They’ve respectively accounted for 66% and 19% of the total increase.
To keep up with the demand, world coal production is projected to increase by nearly 60% by 2030. Every major coal producing country will see huge increases in its coal output: China will almost double its output, India’s will more than double and Russia’s will rise almost 75%.
What about reserves… is there enough coal out there to meet this huge increase in consumption? The answer is yes. World reserves are more than adequate, with China, Russia and the United States accounting for 60% of them.
Presently, China’s a net exporter of coal, but that will change in a year or two. By 2030, China will be importing 88 million tons of the black rock a year. India will be importing a staggering 220 million tons per year, overtaking Europe to become the second-largest importer.
All this is of great benefit to U.S. coal producers, who have seen their exports surge nearly 45% in 2008 alone. They will continue to see increasing exports of coal to China, India and other emerging market countries.
Large investments will be needed on the prospecting side – to identify economically viable deposits – and on the mining side to develop new projects once identified. Total investment in coal-supply infrastructure is expected to be $730 billion through 2030, with 91% of that going to mine development and mining equipment, and the rest for port expansions and shipping upgrades.
In China, Yanzhou Coal Mining Company (NYSE: YZC), owns eight working mines – including one in Australia – with many others under construction. The seven working mainland mines have almost two billion tons of proven reserves. That’s enough to run China’s power plants for five-and-a-half years.
Of course the negative aspects of increased coal usage are increased greenhouse gas generation. Right now coal is responsible for 42% of greenhouse gasses emitted worldwide. The International Energy Agency estimates that will increase to 46% by 2030, even with aggressive implementation of new carbon capture and storage technology.
Coal is a dirty four-letter word when it comes to energy generation. And unfortunately, even under the best-case scenario, the world will have to depend on it for years to come. Investors would be wise to consider some form of exposure to coal as part of a well-balanced energy and infrastructure portfolio.
Interesting graph; however I really question why biomass is considered renewable. Yes, I understand that we can grow more trees, corn, sugar cane, but the power it generates given the amount of resources that are inputted is not very good. The land that is used for this is land that is taken away from natural habitats for other species. And it is still based on carbon.
There’s an interesting book by Vaclav Smil that discusses biomass and looks at the numbers behind it to show that this is not the wave of the future; instead Solar is, and to some extent wind and hydro+wave energy.
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