EIA: U.S. added 108.8 MW of bioenergy capacity in June

The U.S. Energy Information Administration has published the August issue of its Electric Power Monthly report, indicating that the U.S. added 108.8 MW of bioenergy capacity in June. According to the report, 74 MW of capacity from wood and wood waste was added during the month, along with 33.3 MW of capacity from landfill gas projects. An additional 1.5 MW of capacity was added from other sources of waste biomass.

As of the end of June, the EIA reports that the U.S. has approximately 13,368.4 MW of capacity from all biomass sources. This includes 8,215.3 MW from wood and wood waste biomass, 2,045.4 MW from landfill gas, 2,230.7 MW from municipal solid waste, and 876 MW from other forms of waste biomass.

In June, the New England region of the country was home to 1,522.8 MW of biomass capacity, up from 1,382.7 MW during the same month of 2013. The Middle Atlantic region had 1,279.1 MW of biomass capacity, up slightly from 1,266.7 MW in June 2013. Biomass energy capacity also grew in the East North Central region, from 1,140.5 MW in June 2013 to 1,213 MW in June 2014. In the South Atlantic, capacity grew from 3,475.4 in June 2013 to 4,046.7 MW in June of the current year. In the East South Central region, biomass capacity dropped slightly from 1,179.8 MW in June of last year to 1,122.7 MW this year. The West South Central region’s capacity was largely unchanged, from 1,223 MW last June to 1,227.2 MW in the current year. Biomass capacity grew slightly in the Mountain region, reaching 189.9 MW in June, up from 159.9 MW in the prior year. In the Pacific Contiguous region capacity also grew, from 1,994.6 MW in June 2013 to 2,046.8 MW in June 2014. Finally, in the Pacific Noncontiguous region, capacity increased from 255.2 MW last June to 266.6 MW this June.

During the first six months of the year, wood and wood-derived fuels were used to generate 20.71 million MWh of electricity, up 8.6 percent from 19.07 million MW during the same period of the previous year. Other sources of biomass were used to generate 9.388 million MW hours of electricity, down 4.8 percent from 9.858 million MWh during the same period of 2013.

Electric utilities used wood and wood-derived fuels to generate 1.26 million MWh of energy during the first six months of the year, up from 973,000 MWh in 2013. Independent power producers generated 5.57 million MW from wood and wood-derived fuels, up from 4.54 million MWh. The commercial sector generated 39,000 MWh from those sources, up from 12,000 MWh during the first half of 2013. In addition, the industrial sector generated 13.84 million MWh of energy from wood and wood-derived fuels during the first half of the year, up slightly from 13.54 million MWh the prior year.

Electric utilities used other forms of biomass to generate 662,000 MW of energy during the first half of the year, down from 707,000 MWh the prior year. Independent power producers generated 7.05 million MWh from those sources, down from 4.46 million MWh. During the first six months of the year, the commercial sector used other forms of biomass to generate 1.21 million MWh of electricity, up from 1.2 million MWh during the same period of 2013. The industrial sector used other sources of biomass to generate 13.84 million MWh of energy during the first half of the year, up from 13.54million MWh.

A full copy of the report can be downloaded from the EIA website.