Renewables are expected to account for 26% of U.S. electricity generation in 2026, increasing to nearly 28% in 2027, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration’s latest Short-Term Energy Outlook, released Aug. 11. Renewables accounted for 24% of U.S. electricity generation in 2025.

Biomass is currently expected to account for 1.78% of U.S. renewable electricity generation this year, falling to 1.61% next year. Biomass accounted for 1.97% of U.S. electricity generation last year.



Biomass was used to generate 20.5 billion kilowatt hours (kWh) of electricity in 2025, with generation currently expected to fall to 20.2 billion kWh in 2026 and 19.9 billion kWh in 2027.

The electric power sector had 2.7 gigawatts (GW) of waste biomass and 2.1 GW of wood biomass generating capacity in place at the end of last year. Those levels of capacity are expected to remain unchanged in 2026 and 2027.

The industrial sector had 5 GW of wood biomass capacity and 1.3 GW of waste biomass capacity in place at the end of 2025, with capacity expected to remain unchanged this year and next year.

The electric power sector consumed 0.151 quadrillion Btu (quad) of waste biomass in 2025. Consumption is expected to expand to 0.152 quad this year and 0.154 quad in 2027. The sector also consumed 0.167 quad of wood biomass in 2025, with consumption expected to fall to 0.162 quad in 2026 and 0.157 quad in 2027.

The industrial sector is expected to consume 0.156 quad of waste biomass this year, falling slightly to 0.155 quad next year. Consumption was at 0.154 quad in 2025. The sector also consumed 1.3 quad of wood biomass last year, with consumption expected to increase to 1.332 quad this year and 1.422 quad next year.

The commercial sector is expected to consume 0.067 quad of waste biomass in both 2026 and 2027, unchanged from 2025. Wood biomass consumption was at 0.072 quad in 2025 and I expected to increase to 0.073 quad this year and remain that that level in 2027.

The residential sector is expected to consume 0.363 quad in both 2026 and 2027, up from 0.372 quad last year.

Across all sectors, waste biomass consumption was at 0.372 quad in 2025 and is expected to increase to 0.3477 quad this year and fall slightly to 0.376 quad in 2027. Wood biomass consumption was at 1.912 quad last year, and is expected to increase to 1.929 quad in 2026 and 2.014 quad in 2027.

Source: biomassmagazine.com