Business Council for Sustainable Energy, BNEF release sixth Sustainable Energy in America Factbook

The Business Council for Sustainable Energy (BCSE) and Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF) recently released the 2018 Sustainable Energy in America Factbook.

“The massive and historic transformation of the U.S. energy sector clicked into a higher gear in 2017, despite new policy uncertainties,” BNEF said. “Renewable deployment grew at a near-record pace, energy productivity and GDP growth both accelerated, and the U.S. became a serious player in the global liquefied natural gas market. All of this combined to squeeze U.S. greenhouse gas emissions to a 25-year low, while keeping costs in check for consumers.”

Renewable generation increased from 15 percent to 18 percent of the total U.S. electricity mix, according to the report. Natural gas remained the primary source of power generation.

The report also found that energy productivity, the amount of GDP produced by a unit of energy, increased 2.5 percent in 2017. Consumers devoted 1.3 percent of their spending towards electricity, the lowest percentage on record. Although overall GDP increase by 15.3 percent since 2008, energy usage decreased by 1.7 percent.

“The performance is proof that clean energy delivers for the American economy,” BCSE President Lisa Jacobson said. “The 2018 Factbook demonstrates that energy efficiency, natural gas, and renewable energy are generating jobs and cleaner air while reducing energy use and boosting the productivity of the American economy. The focus of national energy policy in 2018 and beyond should be to further enhance and promote the continued growth of these clean energy sectors.”

The report also noted that 2017 was the first time the United States was a net exporter of natural gas for every month of the year.

It also discussed the drop in the price of lithium-ion battery packs, which fell by 23 percent year-on-year and decreased by 65 percent between 2013 and year-end 2017.

The energy efficiency sector employed approximately 2.2 million Americans, the Factbook said. In 2016, the renewable energy, energy efficiency and natural gas sectors employed approximately 3 million people in the United States.