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

FY22 Renewable Electricity Use: 5,860,289 MWh; FY22 Total Electricity Use: 52,454,692 MWh

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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.

A horizonal bar graph showing top renewable technologies used by federal agencies in fiscal year 2022, with wind and solar photovoltaics leading the group.

Renewable Energy TechnologyMWhPercentage of 5.8 million MWh
Wind2,470,39542.2%
Solar Photovoltaic1,833,44631.3%
Biomass (wood and wood residuals)356,7936.1%
Other Sources335,0015.7%
Municipal Solid Waste322,9445.5%
Biogas (captured methane)248,7554.2%
Incremental Hydropower221,1193.8%
Geothermal60,9861.0%
Concentrating Solar Power10,8520.2%
Total:5,860,289100%

 

FY 2022 Renewable Electricity Use by Agency

The following federal agencies were the top users of renewable electricity in FY 2022.

A vertical bar graph illustrating the use of renewable electricity by federal agency in fiscal year 2022.

AgencyAbbreviationRenewable Electric Energy Used (MWh)
U.S. Department of DefenseDOD2,215,220
U.S. Department of EnergyDOE925,165
U.S. Department of Veterans AffairsVA669,371
U.S. General Services AdministrationGSA651,122
U.S. Postal ServiceUSPS248,116
U.S. Department of JusticeDOJ157,034
National Aeronautics and Space AdministrationNASA119,233
U.S. Department of Health and Human ServicesHHS116,383
U.S. Department of TransportationDOT95,216
U.S. Department of Homeland SecurityDHS77,230
Other AgenciesOther586,200
Total: 5,860,289

FY 2022 Renewable Electricity Procurement Methods

Federal agencies procured 5.8 million MWh of renewable electricity using the following methods.

Chart breaks down the methods used to procure renewable electricity.

Procurement MethodMWhPercentage of 5.8 million MWh
Renewable energy certificate (REC) purchases2,358,00440.2%
Direct bonus and REC replacement1,550,45026.5%
On-site renewable energy1,325,16822.6%
Off-site renewable energy626,66710.7%

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.

Chart shows the progress of on-site renewable energy.

On-Site Renewable Energy (MWh)FY 2010FY 2015FY 2022
Solar Photovoltaic70,488322,714784,695
Other Sources11,928437120,211
Biomass (wood and wood residuals)4077,513120,042
Biogas (captured methane)34,340134,829111,823
Incremental Hydropower42,744108,708101,351
Wind59,26694,13581,572
Concentrating Solar Power2522545,426
Geothermal2,0693026
Municipal Solid Waste5,375022
Totals (MWh):221,127738,6201,325,168

 

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.

A heat map indicating the use of renewable electricity with on-site solar energy projects.

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.

A heat map indicating the use of renewable electricity with on-site wind energy projects.

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).