Quote:
Originally Posted by Barry-xlovecam
Major energy sources and percent share of total U.S. electricity generation in 2015:1
Coal = 33%
Natural gas = 33%
Nuclear = 20%
Hydropower = 6%
Other renewables = 7%
Biomass = 1.6%
Geothermal = 0.4%
Solar = 0.6%
Wind = 4.7%
Petroleum = 1%
Other gases = <1%
https://www.eia.gov/tools/faqs/faq.cfm?id=427&t=3
67% of electricity is NOT generated with coal fired plants. |
There is actually a "Petroleum = 1%er" near my dad's house. It was the old power plant back in the day, but now it's just kept in "usable" condition as an emergency back up. It uses 2 giant turbine engines to produce energy. There are 2 giant tanks next to it that must hold thousands of gallons of fuel. These tanks are massive in size, like what you see at gas refinery plants. I could only imagine the cost to run that power plant..
Now on the other hand, I don't believe the number of 0.6% for solar is accurate in the "real world". They are not taking into account all the energy generated by solar installed at businesses & by home owners. That energy doesn't get added to the totals because it just replaces energy that would of come from somewhere else.