Renewable-energy capacity in the U.S. almost
doubled from 2009 to 2012, helping reduce the nation’s carbon-dioxide emissions
last year to the lowest since 1994, according to a Bloomberg New Energy Finance
report.
The cumulative installed solar, wind,
geothermal and biomass-based energy sources in the U.S. climbed to 85.7
gigawatts in 2012, compared with 43.5 gigawatts in 2008, the London-based
research company said in a report today.
U.S. energy consumption fell 6.4 percent from 2007 to 2012 as new, energy-efficient commercial buildings were built and older ones were retrofitted. There have also been “greater efforts from consumers to cut energy use,” including significant growth in sales of hybrid and electric vehicles, Zindler said.
