In 2017, renewables accounted for nearly 50 percent of all new energy capacity additions in the United States. In total, the U.S. added 12,270 megawatts (MW) of biomass, geothermal, hydropower, solar, and wind energy capacity. This marks the fourth year in a row that renewables outpaced natural gas in terms of energy capacity additions in the U.S. While it’s true that renewables are on the rise, the aforementioned figures don’t reflect the nation’s total energy capacity Coal still accounts for roughly 23 percent. Wind and solar energy combined is still less than 10 percent. The U.S. is second only to China in terms of greenhouse gas emissions, contributing 15 percent of the global total of carbon dioxide emissions in 2015.
