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Michelle Lewis

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Michelle Lewis is a writer at Electrek. She has previously worked for Fast Company, The Guardian, News Deeply, Time, and others. She lives in Massachusetts.

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The US wind industry’s 5-year outlook is now a total roller-coaster

US wind 5-year outlook

The US wind industry installed just 5.2 gigawatts (GW) in 2024 – the lowest level in a decade, according to Wood Mackenzie’s new US Wind Energy Monitor report. Installations are expected to rebound in 2025, but the real concern lies in US wind’s sharply downgraded 5-year outlook. As for the reason behind that bleak forecast, we’ll give you one guess as to why, and it starts with a T.

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EVs power up, oil demand growth slows: 2024’s rapid global energy shift – IEA

Rivian lay off

Global energy demand spiked in 2024, driven largely by surging electricity use, according to a new report released today by the International Energy Agency (IEA). Electricity consumption jumped by nearly 1,100 terawatt-hours – a hefty 4.3% increase – nearly twice the annual average growth of the past decade.

This dramatic rise was largely fueled by the electrification of transportation, record-breaking global temperatures that ramped up cooling needs, coupled with increased industrial activity, and growing energy demand from data centers and AI applications.

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FERC: Solar + wind set for a strong 3-year run despite Trump’s sabotage

FERC solar wind

By February 1, 2028, renewables would account for 37.4% of total available installed utility-scale generating capacity – just behind natural gas (40.2%) – with solar and wind making up more than 75% of the installed renewable energy capacity, according to data just released by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC).

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