December 6, 2002—Shipments of solar photovoltaic cells and modules expanded 11 percent to nearly 98,000 peak kilowatts in 2001, according to information released in November by the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) in the report, Renewable Energy Annual 2001.
While solar shipments have increased, total renewable energy consumption dropped to 5.668 quadrillion Btu, the lowest level in over twelve years. EIA attributes this decrease primarily to a 23-percent drop in hydroelectric power generation caused by below normal levels of precipitation in the Pacific Northwest. As a result, renewable energy’s share of US energy consumption declined modestly to under 6 percent in 2001 and biomass overtook hydroelectric power as the most important source of renewable energy for the first time since 1992.
Other highlights from Renewable Energy Annual 2001 include:
- Wind electric power plant net summer capacity expanded by over 70 percent to 4,062 megawatts in 2001.
- Biomass energy consumption decreased 3 percent to 2.854 quadrillion Btu mainly in the residential and industrial sectors.
- Ethanol consumption by the transportation sector expanded 6 percent.
- Five states—Washington, California, Oregon, New York, and Idaho—provided 62 percent of total renewable net electric generation, which stood at 356 billion kilowatt-hours in 2000.
The full report can be viewed online at EIA’s Web site.
