U.S. renewable energy exceeds nuclear power

A recent report released by the U.S. Energy Information Administration shows that U.S. renewable energy now generates more electricity than nuclear energy. In the first 3 months of 2011, biomass/biofuel, hydropower, wind energy, geothermal and solar power generation devices in the United States collectively generated 2.245 trillion BTU (1 BTU=1055.056) or 11.73% of the US energy production. In the same period, nuclear power plants generated 2.125 trillion BTU.

According to the monthly energy review data, the production of renewable energy in the United States has increased by 25% since the first quarter of 2009. Biomass/biofuels accounted for 48% of the total, hydropower accounted for 35.41% of the total, while wind, geothermal, and solar energy accounted for 12.87%, 2.45%, and 1.16%, respectively.

Although the share of solar power is relatively low, studies have found that solar power has increased by 104.8% since the beginning of 2010, and during the same period, wind power rose by 40.3%. The development of this kind of renewable energy is a good sign for the United States, especially after this year's Fukushima disaster in Japan, it is expected that nuclear power will bring sustained environmental and health effects.