Only half of the renewable energy that is produced and consumed in the United States is reflected in official government reports, according to the Canadian Association for Renewable Energies. A lack of consistent historical data collection prior to 1998 means that an estimated 3.2 quadrillion Btu of renewable energy is not included in the monthly reports published by the Energy Information Administration of the Department of Energy, the group says.
Renewable energy includes solar, wind, biomass, hydrogen, geothermal and hyrdopower.
One quad is equivalent to 170 million barrels of oil, or 470,000 barrels a day for a year. Most of the non-reported renewables are wood stoves, solar space and water heaters, private windmills and small hydro generators on a stream, Eggertson said. In 1997, the Energy Information Administration only accounted for the 3.9 QBtu of renewable energy that was used by electric utilities to generate power for distribution, most of which came from hydro and geothermal, as well as smaller amounts of wind, PV, solar thermal, wood and municipal waste. In the non-quantified market in renewables, biofuels accounted for 82 percent in 1997, mostly in wood stoves and combustion of timber waste, down from 88 percent in 1990. As a result, conventional 'solar' is increasing at higher rates.