by Brianna Crandall — August 13, 2014—April 2014 marked the eighth consecutive month that total monthly U.S. non-hydro renewable generation exceeded hydropower generation, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). Only a decade ago, hydropower accounted for three times as much generation in the United States as non-hydro renewable sources including wind, solar, biomass, geothermal, landfill gas, and municipal solid waste.
The graph shows the change in hydropower and non-hydro renewable generation.
(Click on image to enlarge)
The recent growth in wind and solar, which reflects policies such as state renewable portfolio standards and federal tax credits as well as declining costs of technology, has been the primary driver in the increasing market share of non-hydro renewable generation. There also has been growth in geothermal and biomass sources.
October 2012 was the first month on record in which U.S. non-hydro renewable generation exceeded hydropower generation. Although this reversal was short-lived because of the significant month-to-month variation in both hydro and non-hydro resources, the trend lines began to cross each other more frequently in the past year, with the most recent reversal lasting from September 2013 through April 2014, reports EIA.
While hydropower once again exceeded non-hydro renewable generation in May 2014 (the latest available data), EIA projects that 2014 will be the first year in which annual non-hydro renewable generation surpasses annual hydropower generation. Hydropower capacity has increased by slightly more than 1% over the past decade, although actual hydropower generation can vary noticeably by season depending on water supply conditions, notes the agency.
The map shows the difference between annual generation of hydro and non-hydro renewable sources by state.
(Click on image to enlarge)
Wind power capacity, on the other hand, has increased nearly tenfold over that same period. Although wind power often has lower capacity factors than hydropower, wind generation increased from 3% to more than 30% of total renewable generation between 2003 and 2013.
Hydropower does exceed non-hydro renewable generation in several states, particularly in the Northwest, where in 2013 conventional hydropower accounted for 69% and 56% of total electricity generation in Washington and Oregon, respectively. However, the market penetration of other renewables is growing in the United States, particularly in the Midwest and California.
Between 2003 and 2013, the number of states for which non-hydro renewable generation exceeded hydropower generation, shaded green on the maps in the second figure on this page, nearly doubled—increasing from 17 to 33 over this period.
