From January through July of this year, wind and solar in the U.S. generated more net electricity than power from coal, according to recent data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA).
According to the EIA’s Monthly Energy Review for July 2024, electricity net generation from renewable energy outpaced coal for the first seven months of the year so far, a first for the U.S.
Further, wind energy generation alone beat coal energy generation in two consecutive months: March and April. As CleanTechnica reported, wind energy installations produced 45.9 gigawatt-hours (GWh) in March and a record high 47.7 GWh in April, compared to the 38.4 GWh in March and 37.2 GWh in April generated by coal-fired power plants.
A lot of that is because of production shifting from coal to natural gas, though. It’ll be news when solar + wind production exceeds all fossil fuel production put together.
This is that year for California. Except for January, renewables produced more than fossil fuels. We’ll probably end with renewables producing more than fossil fuels for the whole year.
California has some unique advantages that many other states don’t have. They have a lot of open land with constant sunshine, they have plenty of wind corridors, and they have several large rivers for daming.
Yes, all true, and don’t forget the mild climate that allows us to spend significantly less on heating and cooling. On a typical day, or over a month in summer, California uses only about half the electricity that Texas does, even with the larger population and bigger economy.
But don’t get the wrong impression. Colder northern states can be just as good, or better, equipped to deploy solar. Solar panels work best when it’s sunny and cold. Heat drops their efficiency. Also, all those midwestern states are going with wind power in a big way, and with their established drilling industries are uniquely positioned to move to deep geothermal rather than extracting oil and gas.
I would love to install solar, but we don’t have sunshine 8-10 months out of the year. Hopefully they continue getting more efficient to the point where it’s feasible up here. There’s no government incentive programs here either, which means that it takes like 30 years to pay itself off. Idk if I’ll even be alive in 30 years.