“Instead of subsidizing yesterday's energy, let's invest in tomorrow's. So tonight, I challenge you to join me in setting a new goal: By 2035, 80 percent of America's electricity will come from clean energy sources.”
US-President Barack Obama’s State of the Union Speech, January 2011
Renewable energy could contribute dramatically to meeting America's energy needs. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), 635 gigawatts (GW) of new electrical generating capacity will be installed by 2025. That represents more than half of all currently installed capacity in the United States.
Electricity from renewable sources satisfied 10% of the nation's total electricity demand in 2009. This percentage was provided by the following sources:
- biomass 13 %
- hydroelectric 66 %
- geothermal 4 %
- wind energy 17 %
- solar energy 0,2 %
The largest part of the United States' renewable energy generation capacity (excluding hydroelectric) is used to produce electricity. This is twice as much as Germany uses to produce electricity, and approximately three times as much as Japan.
The potential electrical generating capacity for the different renewable technologies is immense:
| Electrical Generating Capacity (GW) | Cumulative Installed Capacity (2008) | Cumulative Installed Capacity by 2025 (according to ACORE's National Policy Conference) |
|---|---|---|
| Wind | 40,2 | 248 |
| Solar | 2,5 | 100 |
| Biomass | 14 | 100 |
| Hydroelectric | 80 | 187 |
| Geothermal | 3.5 | |
| Total | 140,2 | 635 |
Source: www.acore.org, www.awea.org, www.seia.org, www.eia.doe.gov, www.eere.energy.gov, www.renewableenergyworld.com