The U.S. will hit a huge milestone next year when solar power surpasses hydropower for the first time ever - Fortune
The U.S. will hit a huge milestone next year when solar power surpasses hydropower for the first time ever | Fortune
The US is on track to generate more electricity from sunshine next year than from hydropower for the first time ever as surging installations of solar panels, especially residential systems, transform the power system.
Solar will generate more than 318 billion kilowatt-hours of US power in 2024, compared with 284 billion kilowatt-hours from hydropower systems, according to government data. Solar surpassed hydro on a monthly basis in September 2022, but next year will be the first time the threshold is crossed on an annual basis.
The crossover is likely to be permanent. Annual hydropower capacity increased by less than 1% from 2009 to 2022, while solar capacity surged at an average of 44% a year.
Related Knowledge Center: ENERGY BASICS: hydropower
Hydropower — electricity generated by turbines capturing energy from moving water — was for many years the primary contributor of renewable energy to the U.S. electricity grid. Its growth was rapid into the 1970s, and since then has offered a stable supply of power, while a declining share of all generation. For many years, hydropower was seen as clean energy and an unalloyed good, but a greater understanding of the impact of dams on ecosystems and wildlife has led to the removal of some dams. As of 2019, hydropower trails wind as a renewable source of power generation.