A Snapshot of Renewable Energy Deployment

The document provides a comparative analysis of U.S. renewable energy resources—including hydropower, wind, biomass, geothermal, and solar—alongside conventional coal, natural gas, and nuclear power. It details installed capacities, capital costs per kilowatt, and carbon displacement estimates as of 2009-2010, noting that renewables are generally lower in carbon emissions, more flexible in scale, and faster to construct than conventional plants.

• Renewable electricity in the United States grew by 86.6 percent between 1998 and 2009, accounting for 10.6 percent of total U.S. electric generation by that time.
• Hydropower is the largest deployed renewable electricity resource in the U.S. with an installed capacity of approximately 96,000 MW, though the DOE estimates an additional 30,000 MW of undeveloped potential.
• Wind energy is the fastest growing U.S. renewable technology, with capacity increasing by a factor of 14 between 2000 and 2009; total installed capacity reached 36,698 MW by mid-2010.
• Biomass energy totaled approximately 3.9 quadrillion Btu, or 4.1 percent of U.S. energy consumption in 2009, with power capacity reaching approximately 10,800 MW.
• Solar energy capacity in the U.S. reached 2,108 MW by the end of 2009, consisting of 1,676 MW from photovoltaic (PV) panels and 432 MW from concentrating solar power (CSP).
• Conventional power sources have significantly higher carbon footprints and longer construction times than renewables; coal plants typically take 4-5 years to construct, while nuclear plants can take 10 or more years.
• Renewable energy deployment is influenced by several factors, including financial incentives, licensing and permitting, capacity factor, water scarcity, transmission infrastructure, and electric grid management.

APA

Environmental and Energy Study Institute (2011). A Snapshot of Renewable Energy Deployment. https://www.eesi.org/files/re_deployment_011211.pdf

Chicago

Environmental and Energy Study Institute. A Snapshot of Renewable Energy Deployment. 2011. https://www.eesi.org/files/re_deployment_011211.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Environmental and Energy Study Institute |title=A Snapshot of Renewable Energy Deployment |date=January 2011 |url=https://www.eesi.org/files/re_deployment_011211.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{environmentalandenergystudyinstitute2011snapshot, author = {{Environmental and Energy Study Institute}}, title = {{A Snapshot of Renewable Energy Deployment}}, institution = {Environmental and Energy Study Institute}, year = {2011}, month = jan, url = {https://www.eesi.org/files/re_deployment_011211.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }