The U.S. Energy Information Administration currently expects renewables to account for 25% of U.S. electricity generation in 2025, increasing to 27% in 2026, according to the agency’s latest Short-Term Energy Outlook, released March 11. Renewables accounted for 23% of U.S. electricity production last year.
Biomass is expected to account for 2% of U.S. renewable electricity production this year, falling to 1.81% in 2026. Biomass accounted for 2.16% of U.S. renewable electricity generation in 2024.
Biomass was used to produce an estimated 20.5 billion kilowatt hours (kWh) of electricity last year. Biomass generation is expected to reach 21 billion kWh in 2025 and 20.7 billion kWh in 2026.
The electric power sector had 2.7 gigawatts (GW) of waste biomass capacity and 2.3 GW of wood biomass capacity in place at the end of 2024. Those levels of capacity are expected to be maintained through 2025 and 2026.
The industrial and commercial sectors had 5.4 GW of wood biomass capacity and 1.4 GW of waste biomass capacity in place at the end of last year. Those levels of capacity are also expected to be unchanged in 2025 and 2026.
The electric power sector consumed 0.156 quadrillion Btu (quad) of waste biomass last year. Consumption is expected to fall to 0.155 quad this year and remain at that level in 2026. The sector also consumed 0.162 quad of wood biomass in 2024, with consumption expected to expand to 0.172 quad this year and fall to 0.167 quad next year.
The industrial sector is expected to consume 0.152 quad of waste biomass in both 2025 and 2026, down from 0.154 quad in 2024. The sector is also expected to consume 1.343 quad of wood biomass this year, increasing to 1.378 quad in 2026. Consumption was at 1.227 quad last year.
The commercial sector is expected to consume 0.069 quad of waste biomass in 2025 and 2026, down from 0.07 quad in 2024. The sector also consumed 0.072 quad of wood biomass last year, with that level of consumption expected to be maintained this year and next year.
The residential sector is expected to consume 0.406 quad of wood biomass in both 2025 and 2026, unchanged from 2024.
Across all sectors, waste biomass consumption was at 0.381 quad in 2024 and is expected to fall to 0.376 quad in 2025 and remain at that level in 2026. Wood biomass consumption was at 1.867 quad last year and is expected to expand to 1.993 quad this year and 2.023 quad next year.
