The EIA Electric Power Monthly report came out Friday. Being
an energy nut, I read this report each month the day it appears, but the
report in February is special because it has December year-to-date data, closing
out the year. As I perused the monthly reports over the course of 2016, I noted
renewable capacity increased only in dribs and drabs, causing me to doubt that
the US would even reach 2015’s renewable capacity additions. Lo and behold a
prodigious amount of solar panels and wind turbines were brought on-line in
December. Indeed, 56% of all 2016’s wind turbines came on-line that cold, dark
month, as did 36% of all utility-scale solar arrays for the year. Those
installers must’ve been working around the clock. In any event, 2016 solar and
wind capacity additions squeaked by 2015 numbers, but not by much. Utility
scale solar installations were 8% higher than in 2015, and wind installations
were only 2% higher. In 2015 China’s solar and wind capacity installations were
double and triple ours, respectively. I expect we’ll find that in 2016 they outpaced
us even further. 
The good news is that there were significant renewable
capacity additions in states that have largely been renewable sluggards up
until now. Ohio, Nebraska, Missouri, and even West Virginia put in wind farms.
Both Georgia and Florida installed significant amounts of utility scale solar.
Even South Carolina and Mississippi installed a tiny bit of solar to start
taking advantage of their prodigious sunshine.
Let’s move on to the states that are the big guns for
renewables.
Total Utility-Scale Non-Hydro Renewables (Gigawatt-hrs)
2016 2015
1
|
Texas
|
60037
|
Texas
|
46674
|
2
|
California
|
51263
|
California
|
45395
|
3
|
Iowa
|
20305
|
Iowa
|
18131
|
4
|
Oklahoma
|
19844
|
Oklahoma
|
14369
|
5
|
Kansas
|
14187
|
Minnesota
|
11588
|
6
|
Minnesota
|
12464
|
Illinois
|
11323
|
7
|
Illinois
|
11259
|
Kansas
|
11062
|
8
|
Colorado
|
10063
|
Washington
|
9067
|
As you can see above, though California and Texas have been
duking it out for top dog status, the four states in the lead on renewable
energy have maintained their race order between 2015 and 2016. However, there
have been some surprising changes in the other states. Oklahoma really poured on the steam and is
now giving Iowa a run for its money for 3rd place. Kansas leap frogged over
Illinois and Minnesota in impressive fashion to take 5th place. And
Colorado pushed poor Washington right off the chart!
Before we crown Texas as Renewables King, let’s remember we
haven’t included distributed solar, the kind homes and
businesses have on their rooftops. In this area California is not only king,
it’s King Kong. At 8402 gigawatt-hrs in 2016, no other state comes close. In
2015, adding in distributed solar gave California the edge over Texas. However,
in 2016 when we add in distributed solar, though California comes valiantly
close, it still doesn’t quite reach Texas’s total. Texas retains its Total
Renewable Electricity Generated crown.
Next let’s look at renewables as a percentage of electric
sales, the best measure we have of electricity consumed in a state. We now see a
different set of states come to fore.
Utility-Scale Renewables as a Percent
of Electricity Sales
2016 2015
1
|
North Dakota
|
45.0%
|
Iowa
|
38.8%
|
2
|
Iowa
|
42.5%
|
North Dakota
|
37.2%
|
3
|
Maine
|
38.9%
|
Maine
|
37.2%
|
4
|
Kansas
|
35.6%
|
Kansas
|
27.7%
|
5
|
Oklahoma
|
32.8%
|
Oklahoma
|
24.0%
|
6
|
Wyoming
|
26.4%
|
Wyoming
|
22.3%
|
7
|
South Dakota
|
26.0%
|
South Dakota
|
20.7%
|
8
|
California
|
20.0%
|
New Hampshire
|
18.8%
|
Though Iowa was no slouch in 2016, North Dakota blew past it
with ease. In fact, being a state with a small population and a prodigious
amount of wind, it could probably achieve 100% renewables with a snap of its
fingers and have excess renewable electricity to export. The real news is that
Kansas and Oklahoma are on Maine’s tail, looking to overtake it if Maine
doesn’t watch out. And California showed its mettle by getting itself on the
chart at all, not an easy feat with such a large population, pushing New
Hampshire down a notch. More good news: in addition to the states above,
another eight achieved above 15% renewables as a percent of sales in 2016,
including Minnesota, New Mexico, Vermont, Texas, Colorado, Montana, Nevada and
Oregon. That makes 16 states above 15% renewables, whereas in 2015 there were
only 11. Nearly a third of the population of the United States lives in these
16 states. This means nearly a third of the country is seeing the economic and
environmental benefits of renewable energy and has no reason to turn back the
tide on renewable power.
For the United States as a whole, renewables (utility scale
+ distributed solar) made up 8.3% of sales in 2015 and 9.7% in 2016. Looking at
total electricity generated in the US (approximately 9% is lost in the
transmission process) renewables made up 8.9% in 2016, up from 7.6% in 2015. This
is a significant increase, but not nearly as fast as the planet needs.
Now for some darker news. Coal. Ever wonder which states
burn the most? Unfortunately Texas is king in this category, too, and shows no
sign of slacking.
Electricity produced by
Coal (Gigawatt-hrs)
2016 2015
1
|
Texas
|
121231
|
Texas
|
121554
|
2
|
Indiana
|
72582
|
Indiana
|
78213
|
3
|
West Virginia
|
71412
|
Illinois
|
73744
|
4
|
Ohio
|
68944
|
Kentucky
|
72620
|
5
|
Kentucky
|
66889
|
Ohio
|
71710
|
6
|
Missouri
|
60580
|
West Virginia
|
68056
|
7
|
Illinois
|
59315
|
Missouri
|
65326
|
8
|
Pennsylvania
|
54453
|
Pennsylvania
|
64637
|
Seven of the eight states dropped their coal burning in 2016,
Texas not by much, Illinois by a huge amount. West Virginia was the odd one
out, actually increasing its coal burning. West Virginia generates twice as
much electricity as it uses, almost all of it with coal, exporting the excess
to nearby states and the District of Columbia. Its attempt to fight the trend
is pretty clearly a losing battle, however. Total US coal use dropped by
another 8.5% in 2016, for a total of 40% over the last ten years. In December coal-burning
power plants were shuttered in Florida, Colorado and Indiana, which means totals
for 2017 are guaranteed to be lower yet. Moreover, in 2017 large coal-burning
plants are scheduled to shut in Kentucky, Virginia, North Dakota,
Massachusetts, Nevada, New Mexico, Tennessee, and even, yes, West Virginia,
while no new coal plants are scheduled to come on line in the entire country. No
matter what any politician promises, coal-producing and coal-burning states
would be wise to read the writing on the wall.
For more on US and state energy consumption, check out An Energy Diet for a Healthy Planet.
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