# Rise of renewables in the US

By [Brandon Donnelly](https://brandondonnelly.com) · 2021-11-15

electric-vehicles, environment, environment-america, photovoltaics, renewable-energy, solar, solar-panels, wind

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![](https://storage.googleapis.com/papyrus_images/4f7674f8a4666922ab6462fb7910150c.jpg)

Here are some fascinating figures ([from Environment America](https://environmentamerica.org/feature/ame/renewables-rise-2021)) about the growth of renewables in the United States:

*   Between 2011 and 2020, renewable energy production (solar, wind, and geothermal) grew at an average rate of 15% per year. **Assuming this same rate of growth, the US could be on target to meet _all_ of its electricity needs with renewables by 2035.**
    
*   The US produces 23x more solar power and 3x more wind power than it did in 2011.
    
*   The median efficiency for new residential solar panels increased by 37% from 2010 to 2019. At the same time, the cost of distributed solar photovoltaic systems fell by 71% and the cost of utility-scale systems fell by about 80% between 2010 and 2018.
    
*   During this same time period (2010-2018), the cost of land-based wind power fell by 66%.
    
*   The median range of new electric vehicles increased by more than 3x between 2011 and 2020. The median range is now more than 250 miles on a single charge. By the middle of this year, cumulative plug-in EV sales surpassed 2 million units.
    
*   Texas is the US state that currently produces the most renewable energy.
    

To download the full report by Environment America, [click here](https://environmentamerica.org/feature/ame/renewables-rise-2021).

_Photo by_ [_Nuno Marques_](https://unsplash.com/@logvisuals?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText) _on_ [_Unsplash_](https://unsplash.com/s/photos/solar-panel?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText)

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*Originally published on [Brandon Donnelly](https://brandondonnelly.com/rise-of-renewables-in-the-us)*