America’s renewable power generation increased faster during Trump’s first term: MC analysis

The share of wind, solar and geothermal energy rose to 12.4 percent by 2020 from 8.4 percent in 2016

America’s renewable energy generation increased at one of the fastest paces during Donald Trump’s first term in office, according to a Moneycontrol analysis of data from the US Energy Information Administration.

The share of renewable generation in total electricity generation rose from 14.9 percent in 2016 to 19.5 percent in 2020.

The Biden era witnessed renewable energy generation increase to 21.4 percent in 2023.

President Trump, in his second term, is trying to stall the transition away from fossil fuels. One of the 80 executive orders passed on his first day in office declared a national energy emergency.

President Barack Obama’s second term saw a 2.7 percentage point rise in the share of renewable energy to 14.9 percent in 2016 compared with 12.2 percent in 2012, when he won his second term.

In absolute terms, energy generation increased 29 percent to 783 billion kilowatt hours from 609 billion kwh in 2020.

President Obama’s first term witnessed a slightly faster rise at 30 percent to 495 billion kwh in 2012 from 381 billion kwh in 2008.

The share of renewable energy in total generation crossed the double-digit mark for the first time in 2009.

Renewable energy calculations include energy generated from hydel power plants as well.

Analysis shows that renewable sources, except hydel projects, grew faster during Trump’s first term in office.

The share of wind, solar and geothermal energy rose to 12.4 percent by 2020 from 8.4 percent in 2016.

Wind energy was the major contributor in net generation with the share in total generation rising to 8.4 percent by 2020 from 5.6 percent in 2016. In 2023, wind accounted for 10.1 percent of total electricity generation.

The US has witnessed the share of installed capacity rise from around 18 percent in 2016 to over 30 percent in 2023.

While India’s renewable energy generation has grown at a faster clip to 43.8 percent in 2024, installed capacity has been stuck at around 21 percent over the last five years.

In 2023-24, renewable sources had a 20.7 percent share in total power generation compared with 21.2 percent in 2019-20.