The SUN DAY Campaign, a renewable energy advocacy group, reports that the U.S. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's (FERC) latest infrastructure update shows that solar, biomass and wind sources provided 694 MW of new electrical generating capacity in October – representing 99.3% of all new generation placed in-service.
Twelve new solar units accounted for 504 MW (72.1%) of all new electrical generating capacity in October, followed by four biomass units providing 124 MW (17.7%) and two wind units contributing 66 MW (9.4%).
According to SUN DAY, renewable energy sources have accounted for 32.8% of all new electrical generating capacity for the first 10 months of 2013. This exceeds the total from coal's 12.5% and oil's 0.3%. Renewable sources now account for nearly 16% of total installed U.S. operating generating capacity.
"As the threats posed by climate change grow increasingly more dire, renewable energy sources have clearly become a viable alternative to fossil fuels as well as nuclear power," says Ken Bossong, executive director of the SUN DAY Campaign. "Accordingly, efforts by some at the state and national levels to roll back support for these sources are clearly misguided."
