US increased use of renewable energy will help reduce electricity generation from coal and natural gas power plants Energy Information Management (EIA) in turn makes electric vehicles cleaner.
The EIA forecasts that wind and solar will together account for 16% of total electricity generation in 2023, up from 14% in 2022 and 8% in 2018, as additional generating capacity is expected to come in. operating this year.
Wind and solar will increase their share in the national energy mix at the expense of coal and natural gas, according to the EIA, which estimates coal’s share will fall from 20% in 2022 to 18% in 2020. 2023 and 17% by 2024, and natural energy. gas will fall from 39% to 38% of electricity production this year and 37% in 2024.
Net generation from renewable sources, 1990-2021 (via US EIA)
This shift towards renewables has been triggered by the steady accumulation of wind and solar generating capacity over the past few years. According to the EIA, the United States operated about 74 gigawatts of solar capacity by the end of 2022, about three times the capacity since late 2017. The agency said wind capacity has increased by more than 60% since in 2017 to about 143 gigawatts. The wind has become top renewable energy in 2019.
The solar capacity expansion plan supported by tax credits and reduced construction costs will add 63 gigawatts of generating capacity by the end of 2024, with many new installations in California and Texas, where natural gas is the main source of energy. That will allow solar as a share of total electricity generation to grow from 3% in 2022 to 5% in 2023 and 6% in 2024, the EIA predicts.
The EIA said an additional 12 gigawatts of wind-generated capacity is expected to come online by 2024, with the share of electricity generation accounting for about 11 percent in 2023 and rising to 12 percent the following year. Remember, with sources other than wind and solar, renewables make up 20% of US electricity production in 2021.
2023 Cadillac Lyriq at the EVgo DC fast charging station.
All this will help keep lowering Lifetime CO2 traces of electric vehicles charged from the grid. As the Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) has shown, electric vehicles can also propel utilities towards a broader transition to renewable energy, means less pollution overall. The continued shift to renewable energy can save $1.2 trillion in medical costsaccording to the American Ling Association (ALA).
Despite partisan divides over renewables, a 2021 poll shows Americans consider electric cars better for the environment and wants more solar power, shows at least some degree of public support to keep EVs and renewable energy policy relevant.
