In 2024, renewable sources accounted for ***** percent of the electricity generated in the United States. The share of renewables in the country's electricity generation has been continually increasing for over a decade. In addition, renewables accounted for over ** percent of the power capacity additions in the U.S. in the same year. Renewable energy sources in the U.S. Wind power was the leading renewable energy source in the country, accounting for over ** percent of the total electricity supply in the U.S., followed by hydropower. Renewable energy generation in the U.S. amounted to *** terawatt-hours in 2023. The growth of renewables in the U.S. According to a recent forecast, the renewable electricity capacity in the U.S. is projected to triple between 2022 and 2040 in a reference scenario, although this figure could be higher in the case of low renewable cost. In 2023, onshore wind and solar photovoltaic energy had some of the lowest levelized cost of electricity in the country.

The cumulative capacity of renewable energy in the United States, excluding hydro, has continuously rose in the period under consideration, peaking at an estimated 347 gigawatts in 2023. In 2014, the power-generating capacity of non-hydropower renewables in the U.S. was larger than hydropower capacity for the first time.

Renewable energy generation in the United States has seen remarkable growth, with wind power leading the charge. In 2024, wind is generated ***** terawatt hours of electricity, solidifying its position as the top renewable source since 2019. This surge in wind energy production reflects a broader trend of increasing renewable energy adoption across the country. Electricity landscape in the United States The growth in renewable electricity generation is supported by substantial investments and increasing production capacity. However, fossil fuels still dominated U.S. electricity generation in 2024. *********** remains the largest electricity source with a ** percent share in that year, while renewables accounted for ** percent of total electricity generation. Energy transition outlook in the United States Over the last few years, the country demonstrated its commitment to diversify its energy portfolio and reduce reliance on traditional fossil fuels, motivated by environmental concerns and economic factors. According to a recent forecast, renewable sources could provide approximately ** percent of U.S. electricity output by 2050, led by solar energy. The recent political turnover is expected to impact the country’s energy sector, as the new Trump administration is again shifting U.S. energy policy towards fossil fuels.

Renewable energy production in the United States reached an all-time high of 8,788 trillion British thermal units in 2024. Consumption followed closely behind at 8,581 trillion British thermal units. U.S. investment in clean energy The United States' investment in renewables has greatly increased in the past two decades. Clean energy in the United States currently comes primarily from wind, solar, and hydropower, with significant contributions from biofuel and biomass - also known as biopower. Investments are motivated not only by environmental concerns, but also by unstable markets for traditional fossil fuels. Crisis in oil markets When oil prices peaked during the 2008 financial crisis, investors turned toward developing renewables as well as increasing domestic oil production as a more economically viable source. During the 2010s oil glut, oversupply of shale oil followed the expansion of extraction methods such as hydraulic fracturing, used to access the country’s large reserves of sandstone deep underground.

The leading countries for installed renewable energy in 2024 were China, the United States, and Brazil. China was the leader in renewable energy installations, with a capacity of around 1,827 gigawatts. The U.S., in second place, had a capacity of around 428 gigawatts. Renewable energy is an important step in addressing climate change and mitigating the consequences of this phenomenon. Renewable energy capacity and productionRenewable power capacity is defined as the maximum generating capacity of installations that use renewable sources to generate electricity. The share of renewable energy in the world’s power production has increased in recent years, surpassing 30 percent in 2023. Renewable energy consumption varies from country to country. The leading countries for renewable energy consumption are China, the United States, and Canada.Renewable energy sourcesThere are various sources of renewable energy used globally, including bioenergy, solar energy, hydropower, and wind energy, to name a few. Globally, China and Brazil are the top two countries in terms of generating the most energy through hydropower. Regarding solar power, China, the United States, and Japan boast the highest installed capacities worldwide.

Solar energy accounted for some 6.91 percent of electricity generation in the United States in 2024, up from a 5.62 percent share a year earlier. California was the state with the largest percentage of its electricity generation covered by solar, with approximately 28.2 percent.

In 2024, some 453 terawatt hours of electricity was generated from wind sources in 2024, making this the most used renewable source in the United States. By comparison, electricity generation from conventional hydroelectric power plants stood at almost 240 terawatt hours.

In 2024, net solar power generation in the United States reached its highest point yet at 218.5 terawatt hours of solar thermal and photovoltaic (PV) power. Solar power generation has increased drastically over the past two decades, especially since 2011, when it hovered just below two terawatt hours. The U.S. solar industry In the United States, an exceptionally high number of solar-related jobs are based in California. With a boost from state legislation, California has long been a forerunner in solar technology. In the second quarter of 2024, it had a cumulative solar PV capacity of more than 48 gigawatts. Outside of California, Texas, Florida, and North Carolina were the states with the largest solar PV capacity. Clean energy in the U.S. In recent years, solar power generation has seen more rapid growth than wind power in the United States. However, among renewables used for electricity, wind has been a more common and substantial source for the past decade. Wind power surpassed conventional hydropower as the largest source of renewable electricity in 2019. While there are major environmental costs often associated with the construction and operation of large hydropower facilities, hydro remains a vital source of electricity generation for the United States.

Consumption of renewable energy in the United States has experienced a continual annual increase since 1998. In 2024, renewables consumption in the North American country peaked at nearly *****exajoules. This represented a growth of roughly seven percent when compared to the figure reported the previous year.

In the United States, electricity derived from coal has decreased over the past two decades, with the annual output declining by almost 65 percent between 2010 and 2024. In contrast, there has been a rise in natural gas and renewable sources within the energy mix. How is electricity generated in the U.S.? Most electricity in the U.S. is generated from steam turbines, which can be powered by fossil and nuclear fuels, biomass, geothermal, and solar thermal energy. Other systems such as gas turbines, hydro turbines, wind turbines, and solar photovoltaics are also major generation technologies. Electric utilities in the U.S. generated more than 2,241 terawatt hours in 2024, accounting for just over half of the power output in the country that year. Growing renewable capacity Renewable sources have become more prominent in the U.S. over the past years, particularly wind, hydro, and solar energy. The former has overtaken conventional hydropower, becoming the leading renewable energy source in the U.S. since 2019. Wind and solar power have also accounted for the largest share of electricity capacity additions in the country in recent years.

Fossil fuel consumption in the United States amounted to 77.41 quadrillion British thermal units in 2024, a slight increase in comparison to the previous year. Renewables consumption has progressively increased within the period of consideration, reaching 8.6 quadrillion British thermal units that in 2024.

In 2025, renewable energy sources represented over ** percent of electricity capacity additions in the U.S., while natural gas capacity additions decreased to *** percent that same year. Coal electricity capacity additions were phased out in the U.S in 2014. Growth in renewable electricity generation The surge in renewable capacity additions aligns with the overall increase in renewable electricity generation. In 2024, renewable sources produced more than *** terawatt-hours of electricity in the United States. Wind power has emerged as the leading renewable electricity source, surpassing conventional hydroelectric power at the beginning of 2020. This growth in renewable generation is occurring against the backdrop of a slight decrease in total U.S. electricity generation, which fell by *** terawatt-hours from 2023 to 2024, reaching ***** terawatt-hours. Future outlook and consumption patterns Looking ahead, the trend towards renewable energy is expected to continue. Projections indicate that by 2050, renewable energy consumption in the United States will reach approximately ******quadrillion British thermal units, more than doubling the estimated consumption in 2022. This growth in renewable energy aligns with changing consumption patterns in the electricity market. In 2024, retail electricity sales in the U.S. totaled about *** petawatt-hours, with the residential sector accounting for around ** percent of these sales in the previous year.

Throughout the past decade, the United States has been notably decreasing its use of coal, and increasing the use of natural gas and renewable energy sources for electricity generation. In 2024, natural gas was by far the largest source of electricity in the North American country, with a generation share of 43 percent. Renewable energy's share amounted to 24 percent that year.

In 2024, the United States had more than *** gigawatts of electricity-generating capacity from renewable resources. The capacity was expected to increase significantly to reach ***** gigawatts by 2050. Likewise, renewable electricity generation was expected to grow, reaching ***** terawatt-hours by 2050.

In 2023, renewable energy sources accounted for about 21 percent of the total electricity generated in the United States. Of that share, wind power accounted for the largest proportion of U.S. electricity generation, at roughly 10 percent. Geothermal, on the other hand, accounted for just 0.4 percent of the electricity generated in the U.S. that year.

The industrial sector is the second-leading consumer of renewable energy across the United States, with a consumption of ***** trillion British thermal units in 2024. By comparison, the U.S. residential sector consumed *** trillion British thermal units of renewable energy that year.

The statistic shows the renewable and total electricity net summer capacity in the U.S. between 2009 and 2019. In 2019, the figure for renewable energy capacity installed stood at about 20.2 gigawatts.

Global consumption of renewable energy has increased significantly over the last two decades. Consumption levels nearly reached ***** exajoules in 2024. This upward trend reflects the increasing adoption of clean energy technologies worldwide. However, despite its rapid growth, renewable energy consumption still remains far below that of fossil fuels. Fossil fuels still dominate energy landscape While renewable energy use has expanded, fossil fuels continue to dominate the global energy mix. Coal consumption reached *** exajoules in 2023, marking its highest level to date. Oil consumption also hit a record high in 2024, exceeding *** billion metric tons for the first time. Natural gas consumption has remained relatively stable in recent years, hovering around **** trillion cubic meters annually. These figures underscore the ongoing challenges in transitioning to a low-carbon energy system. Renewable energy investments The clean energy sector has experienced consistent growth over the past decade, with investments more than doubling from *** billion U.S. dollars in 2014 to *** billion U.S. dollars in 2023. China has emerged as the frontrunner in renewable energy investment, contributing *** billion U.S. dollars in 2023. This substantial funding has helped propel the renewable energy industry forward.

This statistic shows the nameplate capacity of renewable resources as a percentage of U.S. electricity generating capacity between 2000 and 2018. In 2018, renewable electricity capacity accounted for some **** percent of total U.S. generating capacity.

The renewable energy sector is expected to increase massively before the end of the decade. In 2021, European countries accounted for the largest share of energy produced from renewables worldwide. Europe is projected to maintain this top-ranking position in the next few years, with an expected ** percent of energy production coming from renewable sources by 2027. The most substantial growth in renewable energy production between 2021 and 2027 is however forecast to occur in the Middle East and Africa, with a three-fold increase from **** percent to ** percent. Renewable energy investments in the United States With the Biden Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill in 2021, the United States allocated ** billion U.S. dollars for upgrading the power infrastructure and ** billion U.S. dollars for smart buildings. The clean energy investments in the U.S. will finance the transmission network of the growing renewable energy sector, the development of green technologies, and the optimization of energy consumption to save energy. South America's renewable energy outlook South America's share of energy production from renewable sources is projected to ****** between 2021 and 2027. The Argentinian energy sector, for example, has attracted Chinese and European investments and the renewable energy capacity of this country has experienced a steady growth since 2016. In Mexico, the capacity additions planned by the Program for the Development of the Electricity System 2022-2036 were predominately in the renewable energy sector.