It is almost impossible to talk about energy without the word “renewable” preceding it. In 2018 a total of 181 gigawatts of renewable power was added to the world’s power supply, according to the Ren21 Renewables 2019 Global Status Report. In the United States, renewable energy is the fastest growing energy source, increasing 100 percent from 2000 to 2018, according to the Center for Climate and Energy Solutions. Breaking that out further, renewables made up more than 17 percent of net U.S. electricity generation. Solar generation is projected to climb from 11 percent of total U.S. renewable generation in 2017 to 48 percent by 2050.

Globally, renewables made up 24 percent of electricity and generation in 2016. Eighteen percent of the energy consumed globally for heating, power and transportation was from renewable sources in 2017. Nearly 60 percent of that energy came from modern renewables (i.e., biomass, geothermal, solar, hydro, wind and biofuels) and the re