https://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.php?id=31932
[images and links in on-line article]
July 6, 2017
Monthly renewable electricity generation surpasses nuclear for the first
time since 1984
In March, and again in April, U.S. monthly electricity generation from
utility-scale renewable sources exceeded nuclear generation for the
first time since July 1984. This outcome reflects both seasonal and
trend growth in renewable generation, as well as maintenance and
refueling schedules for nuclear plants, which tend to undergo
maintenance during spring and fall months, when overall electricity
demand is lower than in summer or winter.
Record generation from both wind and solar as well as recent increases
in hydroelectric power as a result of high precipitation across much of
the West over the past winter contributed to the overall rise in
renewable electricity generation this spring, while nuclear generation
in April was at its lowest monthly level since April 2014. However,
EIA’s latest Short-Term Energy Outlook (STEO) projects that monthly
nuclear electricity generation will surpass renewables again during the
summer months of 2017 and that nuclear will generate more electricity
than renewables for all of 2017.
Conventional hydroelectric generation, which remains the largest source
of renewable electricity in most months, totaled 30 billion
kilowatthours in March, the highest level in nearly six years. Largely
because of record precipitation and snowpack in California, EIA’s latest
STEO projects an increase of 14% for hydroelectric power in 2017
compared with 2016.
Electricity generation from wind and solar has increased as more
generating capacity has been installed. More than 60% of all
utility-scale electricity generating capacity that came online in 2016
was from wind and solar technologies. These sources contributed to
record high levels of generation from both fuels: between March 2016 and
March 2017, wind generation increased by 16%, and solar generation
increased by 65%. In April, solar generation continued to increase,
while wind generation fell slightly. EIA’s STEO projects an increase of
8% and 40% in wind and solar utility-scale generation, respectively, in
2017.
As renewable generation has increased, net generation from nuclear power
has remained relatively flat since the late 1990s. Retirements of a
number of nuclear plants have resulted in a slightly lower level of
overall nuclear generation capacity, and in turn, a lower level of
generation.
Unlike generation levels from wind and solar, which follow seasonal
patterns that reflect the fluctuations in their resources, monthly
fluctuations in nuclear generation largely reflect maintenance
schedules. Based on data reported to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission
and compiled in EIA’s daily Status of U.S. Nuclear Outages report, an
average of 14 gigawatts and 21 gigawatts of nuclear capacity were
offline during March and April, respectively, representing about 14% and
21% of total nuclear capacity in the United States.
For a complete list of nuclear plant additions, restarts, and
retirements over the past 10 years, see EIA’s Monthly Energy Review.
Principal contributor: Mickey Francis