Michael Kanellos 03 26 09, 7:04 AM

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60% of New Power Capacity in 2008 Was Clean

If you look at the numbers, green power has momentum.

Close to 60 percent of the new generating capacity added in the U.S. in 2008 revolves around new renewables, i.e., solar, wind, geothermal and other renewable energy devices that aren’t large hydroelectric dams. That comes from Travis Bradford, who heads up the Prometheus Institute. (Prometheus and Greentech Media conduct joint research and hold events together.)

“Over half of the new capacity comes from new renewables,” he said.

That’s a pretty good spike. In 2005, new renewables only accounted for about 15 percent of marginal capacity. In 2006, it jumped to 30 percent and then to 45 percent in 2007. Overall, about 40 gigawatts of new renewables have been added in five years.

How many gigawatts of nuclear have been added? That number would be zero, he added.

Renewables could potentially also gain on traditional power because of the credit crunch, he opined. Granted, not many people want to fund new solar plants. But have you looked at the price of erecting a nuclear reactor these days? The liquidity crisis could hurt traditional power more than  renewables.