Released November 10, 2022 | SUGAR LAND
en
Researched by Daniel Graeber for Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--A slight uptick in estimates for renewable energy on the U.S. grid does not translate to a decline in overall emissions, a new report from the U.S. Department of Energy (DoE) finds.
Delegates at the COP27 summit at the Egyptian resort city of Sharm el-Sheik are naming and shaming polluters. U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres spent the early part of week condemning the so-called "greenwashers" who put forward strong statements on environmental, social and governance (ESG) goals and go after only the easiest emissions to abate.
"We urgently need every business, investor, city, state and region to walk the talk on their net-zero promises," he said. "We cannot afford slow movers, fake movers or any form of greenwashing."
While certainly not an example of greenwashing, the latest report from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), part of the DoE, does little to ease the criticism of the progress made so far in the energy transition, particularly for major economies.
Click on the image at right for an EIA graph detailing the U.S. renewable-energy supply and the roles played by different energy sources.
EIA forecasts that renewable energy resources, not counting nuclear power, improves from 20% over the last two year, to 22% on average for all of 2022. Most of the gains will come from new additions of wind and solar, which could help push total renewable power capacity up to 24% of total capacity next year.
Power generators are expected to add about 15 gigawatts (GW) of new utility-scale solar power to the grid for all of 2022, and another 30 GW by the end of 2023. Wind-power capacity is on pace to improve by 11 GW this year, but falls off to 5 GW of new additions during 2023.
The U.S. electric power sector added 14.6 GW of new wind capacity in 2020. That modest gain for next year could change, however, depending on the interest generated in an eventual lease for offshore wind energy in the Gulf of Mexico.
The government believes the combined 682,500 acres on the auction block have the potential to power an estimated 2.8 million homes. The White House set a goal of deploying 30 GW of offshore wind energy capacity by 2030.
That translates to some heavy lifting for wind energy as the only two offshore wind farms in service--the Block Island facility offshore Rhode Island and the Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind installation--are generating only about 42 megawatts (MW) of power.
So how does that all pan out for emissions? Not so good, it turns out. EIA is expecting total power generation in general to decline by about 2% from 2022 levels, because of forecasts for cooler temperatures next year and a drop in economic activity. But that doesn't translate to lower emissions.
EIA expects total emissions to increase this year because of more, not less, consumption of natural gas and refined petroleum products.
"Among fossil fuels, natural gas emissions increase the most in 2022 as a result of strong demand in the electric power sector and constraints in the coal market that have reduced coal-fired generation," EIA's report read. "Increases in petroleum emissions are attributable to increased travel following the pandemic."
So while the focus at COP27 is on finger-pointing and support for developing economies, it seems the world's largest economy is still going through the growing pains of the energy transition.
Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of industrial market intelligence. Since 1983, IIR has provided comprehensive research, news and analysis on the industrial process, manufacturing and energy related industries. IIR's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) platform helps companies identify and pursue trends across multiple markets with access to real, qualified and validated plant and project opportunities. Across the world, IIR is tracking more than 200,000 current and future projects worth $17.8 trillion (USD).
Delegates at the COP27 summit at the Egyptian resort city of Sharm el-Sheik are naming and shaming polluters. U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres spent the early part of week condemning the so-called "greenwashers" who put forward strong statements on environmental, social and governance (ESG) goals and go after only the easiest emissions to abate.
"We urgently need every business, investor, city, state and region to walk the talk on their net-zero promises," he said. "We cannot afford slow movers, fake movers or any form of greenwashing."
While certainly not an example of greenwashing, the latest report from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), part of the DoE, does little to ease the criticism of the progress made so far in the energy transition, particularly for major economies.
Click on the image at right for an EIA graph detailing the U.S. renewable-energy supply and the roles played by different energy sources.EIA forecasts that renewable energy resources, not counting nuclear power, improves from 20% over the last two year, to 22% on average for all of 2022. Most of the gains will come from new additions of wind and solar, which could help push total renewable power capacity up to 24% of total capacity next year.
Power generators are expected to add about 15 gigawatts (GW) of new utility-scale solar power to the grid for all of 2022, and another 30 GW by the end of 2023. Wind-power capacity is on pace to improve by 11 GW this year, but falls off to 5 GW of new additions during 2023.
The U.S. electric power sector added 14.6 GW of new wind capacity in 2020. That modest gain for next year could change, however, depending on the interest generated in an eventual lease for offshore wind energy in the Gulf of Mexico.
The government believes the combined 682,500 acres on the auction block have the potential to power an estimated 2.8 million homes. The White House set a goal of deploying 30 GW of offshore wind energy capacity by 2030.
That translates to some heavy lifting for wind energy as the only two offshore wind farms in service--the Block Island facility offshore Rhode Island and the Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind installation--are generating only about 42 megawatts (MW) of power.
So how does that all pan out for emissions? Not so good, it turns out. EIA is expecting total power generation in general to decline by about 2% from 2022 levels, because of forecasts for cooler temperatures next year and a drop in economic activity. But that doesn't translate to lower emissions.
EIA expects total emissions to increase this year because of more, not less, consumption of natural gas and refined petroleum products.
"Among fossil fuels, natural gas emissions increase the most in 2022 as a result of strong demand in the electric power sector and constraints in the coal market that have reduced coal-fired generation," EIA's report read. "Increases in petroleum emissions are attributable to increased travel following the pandemic."
So while the focus at COP27 is on finger-pointing and support for developing economies, it seems the world's largest economy is still going through the growing pains of the energy transition.
Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of industrial market intelligence. Since 1983, IIR has provided comprehensive research, news and analysis on the industrial process, manufacturing and energy related industries. IIR's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) platform helps companies identify and pursue trends across multiple markets with access to real, qualified and validated plant and project opportunities. Across the world, IIR is tracking more than 200,000 current and future projects worth $17.8 trillion (USD).
