Thursday 25 January 2018
Wind power is forecast to surpass hydroelectricity as the largest renewable generation source in the US.
That's according to the latest report from the Energy Information Administration (EIA), which states few new hydro plants are expected to come online in the next two years.
It adds its forecast is however mostly based on projections of water runoff.
After a relatively wet year in 2017 – when hydro provided 7.4% of total utility-scale generation – it is expected to be slightly lower at 6.5% this year and 6.6% next year.
Significant capacity of wind capacity is expected to come online this year and in 2019, increasing by 8.3GW and 8GW respectively.
If the new generating units come online as scheduled, they would add 9% of utility-scale wind capacity by the end of 2018 and another 8% by 2019.
EIA expects wind to provide 6.9% of total power generation in 2019.