Eleventh annual edition of the Sustainable Energy in America Factbook highlights national data on the U.S. energy transition in 2022

Washington, D.C. – Despite a tumultuous year in 2022, the U.S. economy is now firmly on the clean energy transition path to drive down emissions and create economic opportunities. Investment in clean energy generation and technologies shattered records in 2022, even as supply chain disruptions, an international energy crisis, and rising interest rates elevated prices for key energy commodities, according to the 2023 Sustainable Energy in America Factbook published today by BloombergNEF (BNEF) and the Business Council for Sustainable Energy (BCSE). Power generation from renewable sources hit a new record, consumers purchased nearly 1 million new electric vehicles, and Congress sent a clear signal about long-term commitment to decarbonization through the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act, the most consequential climate law in U.S. history.

“In a year dominated by tumult and upheaval in global energy markets, a broad portfolio of technologies helped ensure that the clean energy transition continued to advance,” said BCSE President Lisa Jacobson. “The question now is how fast we can move. Efficient implementation of recent climate and infrastructure legislation, as well as common sense federal permitting and siting reform, will be necessary to capitalize on the sustainable energy growth of 2022.”

Comprising more than 50 slides with data visualizations, the Factbook is a succinct resource that highlights the status of sustainable energy in the United States based on statistics and data inputs from the year before. In addition to highlighting the contributions of key energy sectors to 2022’s performance, the Factbook details important market and investment dynamics, technology trends, and policy developments.

The trend of U.S. decarbonization is hard-wired

The Factbook reveals that 2022 represented a record-breaking year for energy transition investment, with global financing for technologies to decarbonize the world’s economy exceeding $1 trillion. In the United States, energy transition investment rose 11% year-on-year to $141 billion.

Renewables’ contributions to the power grid also broke records in 2022. Driven by surges in output from wind and solar, as well as growth in hydropower production, renewable generation rose at …