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This Data Will Blow You Away: Renewables By Far The Largest New Power Source In The US

New solar and wind energy farms added a whopping 68 percent of new power generation capacity in the U.S. last year.

New solar and wind energy farms added a whopping 68 percent of new power generation capacity in the United States last year, according to a report from Bloomberg New Energy Finance.

When combined with hydropower, renewables now make up a fifth of America’s electricity generation capacity, more than double what it was in 2008.

“The power sector continued to de-carbonize and add near-record amounts of clean energy as policy activity at the global, national and state levels set the country on track for further emissions abatement,” the study found.

This is good news for the environment and consumers but also for companies like GE and their shareholders and customers. GE greatly expanded its renewables portfolio with hydropower, offshore wind systems and power distribution technologies when it acquired Alstom’s energy and grid business last year.

Americans will get their first taste of the combination later this year, when Deepwater Wind turns on the country’s first offshore wind farm in the Atlantic Ocean near Block Island, Rhode Island. But the United States is just one market for the technologies. Take a look at a some of the recent projects.

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