Wind and solar power are the fastest-growing sources of electricity in the United States, according to a review of new data by the SUN DAY Campaign. The analysis, based on figures from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), reveals that renewable energy output increased by nearly 10% in the first half of 2024.
Utility-scale solar, including both solar thermal and photovoltaic, saw a significant expansion of 30.4%. When combined with small-scale solar installations, the solar sector contributed nearly 7% of the nation's total electricity generation during this period.
Wind power also experienced a strong rebound following a period of decline in 2023. The output from U.S. wind farms in the first six months of 2024 was 8.2% higher than the same period the previous year. Notably, wind-generated electricity in June was 39.2% above the level recorded in June 2023.
Together, wind and solar provided 18.6% of the U.S.'s electricity in the first half of 2024, with these sources accounting for 17.8% in June alone.
Hydropower generation also saw modest growth, increasing by 0.5% in the first half of the year and by 8.9% in June compared to the same period in 2023. Overall, the combination of solar, wind, hydropower, biomass, and geothermal energy led to a 9.6% increase in renewable electricity generation in the first half of 2024, accounting for 26% of the nation's total electricity output.
This marks a slight increase from the 25% share of renewables in U.S. electricity generation during the first six months of 2023.
