United States Consumes Record Amount of Renewable Energy in 2020
Good news! For the fifth year in a row, the United States has consumed a record amount of renewable energy. In 2020, US consumption of renewables reached 11.6 quadrillion BTU, which account for roughly 12% of the total US energy consumption. On top of this increase in renewable consumption, fossil fuel and nuclear consumption simultaneously decreased year-to-year.
The renewable energy breakdown is shown below for 2020:
Wind – accounted for 26% of renewable energy consumption last year.
Hydroelectric power – accounted for 22% of renewable energy consumption last year.
Wood & waste energy – accounted for 22% of consumption last year. This includes biomass waste from landfills and wood fuel used to produce heat.
Biofuels – accounted for 17% of renewable energy consumption.
Solar – accounted for only 11% of all renewable energy consumption in 2020 but did see a 22% increase from 2019.
Source: EIA
