The rise of solar and wind energy in the United States

Clean energy is booming in the United States.

According to the seventh edition of the U.S. Clean Energy Annual Report "Renewables on the Rise 2023," solar power generation in the United States is nearly 12 times that of 2013, and wind power generation is 2.6 times that of 2013.

In 2022, nearly 17% of the electricity in the United States will come from solar, wind and geothermal energy. This proportion is slightly higher than 2013 by 5%. In 2022, 14 states will generate more than 30% of their electricity from solar, wind and geothermal energy, up from just two states in 2013.

This incredible growth will be key to realizing our vision of a clean energy future, in which we can all live greener, healthier lives in a world powered entirely by clean, renewable energy. Renewable energy is on the rise

The growth of clean energy in the United States

Our report examines advances in several renewable and clean energy technologies—that are needed to repower our state and nation with clean, renewable energy. The situation in the United States is as follows:

Wind energy: By 2022, the United States will produce enough wind energy to power nearly 41 million average homes, 2.6 times the amount produced in 2013.

Solar energy: By 2022, the United States will produce enough solar energy to power 19 million homes, nearly 12 times more than in 2013.

Electric vehicle sales: Americans purchased more than 925,000 plug-in electric vehicles in 2022, a more than 10-fold increase from 2013.

Electric vehicle charging ports: The number of electric vehicle chargers nationwide exceeds 151,000, an increase of nearly 18 times compared with 2013.

Energy savings: Energy efficiency improvements installed in 2021 will save 300 terawatt hours of electricity over their lifetime, enough to power 28 million homes for a year.

Battery energy storage capacity: By the end of 2022, the battery energy storage capacity in the United States will be 8.9 GW, 60 times that of 2013 and an 85% increase from the end of 2021.

Where does U.S. clean energy go next?

We can take advantage of current opportunities to keep renewable energy growing.

For example, there are more than 100,000 homes in the United States with large, flat, open, sunny roofs that are in desperate need of solar panels.

The rooftops of large U.S. stores and malls have the potential to generate 84.4 terawatt hours (TWh) of solar electricity per year, equivalent to powering nearly 8 million average U.S. homes. This is equivalent to the amount of electricity needed to power 35 medium-sized cities in the United States, and reduces greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to taking the emissions from more than 11.3 million gasoline-powered cars off the road each year.