US set records for green energy in 2023

Ready for some records not set by Nvidia? The Business Council for Sustainable Energy (BCSE) released its 2024 factbook, and it’s got some good news.

In 2023, a record high of 23% of US electricity was supplied by renewable sources. A record 8.8% of total US energy demand was met by renewables. 42 gigawatts’ worth of renewable power, the majority of it solar, was added to the grid—also a record. Energy productivity grew 3.8% over 2022.

And, though EV usage hasn’t reached expectations, EV sales set a record in 2023. Close to 1.46 million EVs were sold last year, 50% more than in 2022.

Total US greenhouse gas emissions dropped to their lowest levels since 1987 (except for 2020, when emissions were unusually low because of Covid lockdowns). However, the US still has a long way to go to cut emissions to 50%–52% of 2005 levels by 2030, the goal it set as part of the Paris Agreement. Currently, total emissions are only 16% lower than they were in 2005. The energy sector is outperforming others in this regard: Its emissions are down 40% from 2005 levels.

The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and other government initiatives have helped drive these sustainability gains, the BCSE said, and have spurred investment in green technology. By way of example, they pointed out that in August 2022, the month the IRA passed, only nine clean-tech manufacturing plants were being planned in the US. By December 2023, 104 were. “Recent federal policies have proven to be an important asset in accelerating technology deployment amid a turbulent market,” BCSE President Lisa Jacobson noted in a press release.