Wind Power Outpaces Hydro Electricity in the U.S.

This article is published in collaboration with Statista

by Katharina Buchholz

Electricity generated from wind turbines is growing in the U.S. having surpass electricity generated from hydropower in 2019. This makes wind power the largest single source of renewable electricity in the country, followed by hydro electricity and solar power, according to numbers from the U.S. Energy Information Administration. While the share of hydropower in U.S. electricity generation is decreasing, solar power - generated in the electric power sector, but also by citizens and other commercial or industrial actors - is growing steadily.

Hydro power was the biggest provider of renewable energy in the U.S. for a long time, but the sector relies on large-scale projects (like the Hoover Dam). Big dam projects haven’t been built in the U.S. for a while, in part because of the difficulty of such an undertaking considering current environmental protection laws, therefore giving easier-to-scale wind power the chance to get ahead.

The data also forecasts that in 2021, more than one fifth of U.S. electricity will come from renewable sources, also including power from biomass and a small amount of geothermal power.

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