For the day of the Earth 2025, a look at renewable energies in the United States by figures – Orange County Register

The 55th day of the earth is Tuesday, and the theme of this year focuses on renewable energies – “our power, our planet”. Today we look at renewable energies in the United States

Renewable energy resources

This map of the National Laboratory of Renewable Energies shows generalized areas which contain some of the most abundant renewable energy resources in the 48 lower states. The laboratory is the main installation of the US Energy Ministry for the Research and Development of Electric Systems. The laboratory says it focuses on safety and reliability. It aims to direct the integration and innovation of energy systems – improve existing technologies and develop new solutions that unlock economic opportunities and fuel the global competitiveness of America.

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In 2023, the share of electricity production of renewable energies in the United States was 22.7%. Figures for other countries:

• Japan, 23.8%
• France, 26.2%
• China, 30.1%
• Germany, 52.4%
• Canada, 66.1%
• Brazil, 88.7%
• Norway, 98.5

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What is renewable energy?

Renewable energy is the power of sources that are naturally regenerated. They are practically inexhaustible but are limited by availability.

• Biomass
• Wood and wood waste
• Municipal solid waste
• Burial and biogas
• Biofuels
• Hydroelectricity
• Geothermal
• Wind
• Solar

The National Renewable Energy Laboratory had its roots in the 1970s oil crisis. In 1974, President Gerald Ford signed a bill to create his precursor, Solar Energy Research Institute. The 2021 budget for the laboratory was $ 464.3 million, these amounts in millions of research on renewable energies:

• Solar energy: $ 122.4
• Wind energy: $ 30
• Bioenergy: $ 56.3
• Hydrogen and fuel cells: $ 17.6
• Geothermal energy: $ 1.8
• Water energy: $ 15.8

American primary energy consumption per source, 2023

According to the Energy Information Administration, renewable energies provided approximately 9%, or 8.2 British thermal units Quadrillion, total American energy consumption in 2023. The electric energy sector represented around 39% of the total consumption of American renewable energy and around 21% of electricity production came from renewable sources. Renewable energy projections of renewable energy show that the United States increases to 15.3 quadrillion units by 2035.

What role does renewable energies play in the United States? The graph below shows that until the mid-1800s, the wood was at the origin of almost all the country’s energy needs for heating, cooking and lighting. From the late 1800s to today, fossil fuels – coal, oil and natural gas – were the main sources of energy. Hydroelectricity and wood were the most used renewable energy resources until the 1990s. Since then, American energy consumption of biofuels, geothermal generation, solar and wind sources has increased.