In Fiscal Year (FY) 2022, federal agencies used more than 5.8 million megawatt-hours (MWh) of renewable electric energy—11% of total FY 2022 federal electricity use. The Federal Energy Management Program (FEMP) helps agencies meet statutory renewable electricity requirements and accomplish their missions through investment in lasting and reliable energy-generation projects and purchases.
Total FY 2022 Renewable Electricity Use
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Federal agencies used 11% renewable electricity in FY 2022:
- 5,860,289 MWh renewable electricity out of 52,454,692 MWh total electricity used.
Federal energy performance data is from FEMP's Comprehensive Annual Energy Data and Sustainability Performance website.
Read more about the federal government's progress toward efficiency requirements.
FY 2022 Renewable Electricity Technologies
Federal agencies used 5.8 million MWh of renewable electricity generated by the following technologies.
Renewable Energy Technology MWh Percentage of 5.8 million MWh Wind 2,470,395 42.2% Solar Photovoltaic 1,833,446 31.3% Biomass (wood and wood residuals) 356,793 6.1% Other Sources 335,001 5.7% Municipal Solid Waste 322,944 5.5% Biogas (captured methane) 248,755 4.2% Incremental Hydropower 221,119 3.8% Geothermal 60,986 1.0% Concentrating Solar Power 10,852 0.2% Total: 5,860,289 100%
FY 2022 Renewable Electricity Use by Agency
The following federal agencies were the top users of renewable electricity in FY 2022.
Agency Abbreviation Renewable Electric Energy Used (MWh) U.S. Department of Defense DOD 2,215,220 U.S. Department of Energy DOE 925,165 U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs VA 669,371 U.S. General Services Administration GSA 651,122 U.S. Postal Service USPS 248,116 U.S. Department of Justice DOJ 157,034 National Aeronautics and Space Administration NASA 119,233 U.S. Department of Health and Human Services HHS 116,383 U.S. Department of Transportation DOT 95,216 U.S. Department of Homeland Security DHS 77,230 Other Agencies Other 586,200 Total: 5,860,289
FY 2022 Renewable Electricity Procurement Methods
Federal agencies procured 5.8 million MWh of renewable electricity using the following methods.
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Procurement Method MWh Percentage of 5.8 million MWh Renewable energy certificate (REC) purchases 2,358,004 40.2% Direct bonus and REC replacement 1,550,450 26.5% On-site renewable energy 1,325,168 22.6% Off-site renewable energy 626,667 10.7% Renewable energy certificate (REC) purchases: RECs represent the renewable attributes of generation produced from renewable energy projects and are sold separately from commodity electricity. Agencies can purchase RECs to help achieve their renewable energy goals.
Direct bonus and REC replacement: Renewable energy that is produced on federal or Indian land and for which the agency owns the renewable attributes, referred to as on-site renewable energy, allows the agency to claim a bonus toward their renewable energy goal. An agency can own the project and RECs directly, or, if the agency gives up ownership of the RECs to another party, it can purchase replacement RECs to reclaim the bonus.
On-site renewable energy: Produced from projects on federal or Indian land where the agency owns the renewable energy attributes.
Off-site renewable energy: Includes both the renewable attributes (RECs) and the source electricity for the renewable attributes.
On-Site Renewable Energy Progress
In FY 2022, federal agencies used 1.32 million MWh of renewable electricity from on-site renewable energy projects—1.5 times more than in FY 2015, and 5 times more than in FY 2010.
On-Site Renewable Energy (MWh) FY 2010 FY 2015 FY 2022 Solar Photovoltaic 70,488 322,714 784,695 Other Sources 11,928 437 120,211 Biomass (wood and wood residuals) 40 77,513 120,042 Biogas (captured methane) 34,340 134,829 111,823 Incremental Hydropower 42,744 108,708 101,351 Wind 59,266 94,135 81,572 Concentrating Solar Power 252 254 5,426 Geothermal 2,069 30 26 Municipal Solid Waste 5,375 0 22 Totals (MWh): 221,127 738,620 1,325,168
FY 2022 On-Site Solar Energy Generation
In FY 2022, federal agencies generated 784,695 MWh of renewable electricity with on-site solar energy projects. The top five states for federal on-site solar energy generation were California (173,927 MWh), Hawaii (100,517 MWh), Georgia (65,995 MWh), Arizona (62,916 MWh), and Texas (50,250 MWh). Solar generation is grouped into ranges in the map below.
FY 2022 On-Site Wind Energy Generation
In FY 2022, federal agencies generated 81,572 MWh of renewable electricity with on-site wind energy projects. The top five states for federal on-site wind energy generation were Texas (61,984 MWh), Massachusetts (10,619 MWh), Utah (3,421 MWh), Wyoming (2,284 MWh), and California (1,417 MWh). Wind generation is grouped into ranges in the map below.
Federal Renewable Electricity Requirement
In accordance with Section 203 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. § 15852), each fiscal year the federal government must consume at least 7.5% of its total electricity from renewable sources—referred to as the renewable electricity requirement.
As defined in 42 U.S.C. § 15852(b), renewable electricity is electric energy generated from solar, wind, biomass, landfill gas, ocean (including tidal, wave, current, and thermal), geothermal, municipal solid waste, or new hydroelectric generation capacity achieved from increased efficiency or additions of new capacity at an existing hydroelectric project. Nonelectric or thermal renewable energy, including geothermal heat pumps, does not count toward the renewable electricity requirement, but will be tracked as an indicator for an agency’s OMB Scorecard.
For most recent requirements, see Federal Renewable Energy Use Requirement: 42 U.S.C. § 15852(a) as amended by EPAct § 203 and the Energy Act of 2020 §§ 3002(o), 3006(b)(2) of December 27,2020, 134 Stat. 2497, 2512).