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EGEB = Electrek Green Energy Brief: A daily technical, financial, and political roundup/analysis of news about green energy, such as wind, solar, sustainable technology, and electric vehicles.

Renewables provided 90% of new US capacity in 2024 – FERC

renewables coal global solar

Renewable energy – solar, wind, geothermal, hydropower, biomass – accounted for more than 90% of total US electrical generating capacity added in 2024, according to data released yesterday by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) and reviewed by the SUN DAY campaign.

Solar alone accounted for over 81% of the new capacity. Moreover, December was the 16th month in a row in which solar was the largest source of new capacity.

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This cool tech will turn existing fiber optics into smart sensors on Minnesota’s grid

Minnesota grid

Not-for-profit power cooperative Great River Energy, which serves 1.7 million people across Minnesota and Wisconsin, has partnered with Prisma Photonics to roll out real-time monitoring technology across 90 miles of transmission lines in northern Minnesota. Prisma Photonics will provide its PrismaPower system to track threats like wildfires, ice, wind, and physical damage to the Minnesota grid.

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No other energy source came close to matching solar’s rate of growth in 2024 – in numbers

West Virginia solar 2024

Solar generation for the first 11 months of 2024 increased by over 26%, while new solar generating capacity added in November was the second-highest monthly total ever reported, according to new data released by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) and the US Energy Information Administration (EIA).

New solar capacity easily surpassed all other energy sources during the first 11 months of 2024, followed by wind, according to the SUN DAY Campaign, which reviewed the data.

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Solar overtakes coal in the EU, and gas declines for 5th year running

EU largest solar farm

Solar generated 11% of EU electricity in 2024, overtaking coal which fell below 10% for the first time, according to the European Electricity Review published today by think tank Ember.

EU gas generation declined for the fifth year in a row, and total fossil generation fell to a historic low.

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Europe’s wind power hits 20%, but 3 challenges stall progress

Europe wind power triple renewables 2030

Wind energy powered 20% of all electricity consumed in Europe (19% in the EU) in 2024, and the EU has set a goal to grow this share to 34% by 2030 and more than 50% by 2050.

To stay on track, the EU needs to install 30 GW of new wind farms annually, but it only managed 13 GW in 2024 – 11.4 GW onshore and 1.4 GW offshore. This is what’s holding the EU back from achieving its wind growth goals.

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This long duration compressed air energy storage project just got a $1.76B DOE loan

Hydrostor’s GEM A-CAES has received a conditional loan guarantee of up to $1.76 billion from the US Department of Energy (DOE) to build the Willow Rock Energy Storage Center, a cutting-edge compressed air energy storage (CAES) system, in Eastern Kern County, California.

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