Wind & Solar Alliance

We provide free reports, news, recommendations and statistics for the Wind and Solar Power industry in the United States.

American Solar & Wind Energy Statistics

In 2020, U.S. electricity generation from coal across all sectors declined by 20% from 2019. Renewable energy, including small-scale solar, increased by 9% in 2020. Wind, grew by a massive 14% and utility-scale solar generation (projects greater than 1 megawatt) increased by 26%. Small-scale solar, such as grid-connected rooftop solar panels, also saw an increase of 19%.

$85.3 Billion

invested in the wind and solar energy industries.

12%

of consumers/electricity buyers used renewable energy as an energy source.

26%

of renewable energy consumption was made up of wind energy in 2020.

345,000

wind and solar jobs created.

91%

of all new electricity capacity added last year was solar and wind energy.

260GW

of renewable energy capacity added globally in 2020

Solar

Solar power is energy from the sun that is converted into electricity. This can be done in three ways, using photovoltaics (PV), solar heating and cooling, and concentrating solar power. Photovoltaic cells convert light into solar power by an electronic process, and can be used to power homes and businesses. Concentrated solar power systems use solar tracking systems as well as lenses and mirrors to harness sunlight into one beam. Solar heating and cooling and concentrated solar power use the sun’s power to provide heating, or to power electricity-generating turbines.

The International Energy Agency has estimated that by 2050, solar would be the world’s largest source of electricity, with solar photovoltaics and concentrated solar power contributing about 16 and 11 percent respectively.

Wind

Wind power is the use of kinetic energy to provide mechanical power. This can be used for specific tasks (such as pumping water) or can go on to be converted into electricity by a generator. Wind power is an increasingly popular renewable energy source. No water is used in the production of wine power and it has a much smaller impact on the environment than burning fossil fuels.

According to the American Wind Energy Association, production of wind power in the United States in 2015 avoided consumption of 280 million cubic metres (73 billion US gallons) of water and reduced CO2 emissions by 132 million metric tons. This provided the U.S. $7.3 bn in public health savings, and this figure is increasing by the year as wind power becomes a more reliable, cheaper form of energy.