The NAEE blog has commented on a Washington Post article which shows the proportion of electricity generated from different sources in the USA. There is an interactive map which shows the amount of electricity generated in each State for the first 5 months of 2015, and the proportion coming from different sources. The differences are huge.
For example, in Washington, 37 GWHrs of the 47GWHr total come from Hydro, whereas in Indiana, 33 GWHr of the 41GWHr total comes from Coal.
There is also data on particular fuels. Here are two:
There are 511 coal-powered electric plants in the U.S. They have generated 34 percent of the nation’s electricity this year.
The leading fuel for electricity generation in the country, coal is most popular in the Midwest, Appalachia and the East Coast, but is also the primary source in Wyoming, Utah, Montana and Arizona. It generated the vast majority of the nation’s electricity in the late 1980s but now creates one-third with natural gas gaining steadily. Coal is the chief source of electricity in 22 states and creates a majority of the electrical power in 14 states.
There are 843 wind-powered electric plants in the U.S. They have generated 5 percent of the nation’s electricity this year.
Wind is the fastest growing source, finding a home in the Great Plains where wind blows reliably across wide open spaces. Iowa and South Dakota get one third of their power from wind, followed by Kansas, Vermont and North Dakota.
The NAEE blog makes the point that making the transition from the present, where coal and gas dominate, to a carbon-neutral generation (as promised at Paris) will not be easy, or fast. Just as it will not be here. The blog post ends:
"In the UK, we have a different mix of sources, but the same problem. The heart of the dilemma is that it is not possible to fix this problem just by building renewable sources, although not everyone understand that. Great teaching topic though."
Indeed it is; just a pity that so little of it seems to go on.
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