1、2020 renewable energy industry outlook Oil, gas and chemicals outlook for 2020 | 2 Renewable energy industry primed for continued growth For the first time ever, in April 2019, renewable energy outpaced coal by providing 23 percent of US power generation, compared to coals 20 percent share.1 In the
2、first half of 2019, wind and solar together accounted for approximately 50 percent of total US renewable electricity generation, displacing hydroelectric powers dominance. Declining costs and rising capacity factors of renewable energy sources, along with increased competitiveness of battery storage
3、, drove growth in 2019. In the first half of the year, levelized cost of onshore wind and utility-scale solar declined by 10 percent and 18 percent, respectively, while offshore wind took a 24 percent dip.2 The greatest decline was in lithium-ion battery storage, which fell 35 percent during the sam
4、e period.3 This steady decline of prices for battery storage has begun to add value to renewables, making intermittent wind and solar increasingly competitive with traditional, “dispatchable” energy sources. The renewable energy sector saw significant demand from most market segments as overall cons
5、umer sentiment remained positive. Renewable energy consumption by residential and commercial customers increased 6 percent and 5 percent, respectively, while industrial consumption declined slightly, by 3 percent, through June 2019 compared with the previous year.4 As in 2018, US corporate renewable
6、 energy contracts once again hit new levels, as corporations signed power purchase agreements (PPAs) for 5.9 gigawatts (GW) of renewable energy in the first half of 2019.5 The prospects for short-term solar and wind energy growth appear favorable, with about 96.6 percent of net new generation capaci