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Renewable Energy to Pass Coal in the US this Year

Posted by Matt Birchler
β€” 1 min read
Renewable Energy to Pass Coal in the US this Year

In a First, Renewable Energy Is Poised to Eclipse Coal in U.S.

The United States is on track to produce more electricity this year from renewable power than from coal for the first time on record, new government projections show, a transformation partly driven by the coronavirus pandemic, with profound implications in the fight against climate change.

This is quite the milestone, and I'm happy to see renewables continue to be more and more essential.

The report itself has a few interesting points:

  1. Coal consumption will be down 23% over 2019
  2. CO2 emissions dropped 2.8% in 2019, and will drop 11% in 2020, although that larger drop is in part due to COVID-19's impact on energy usage, which is also falling
  3. Renewables are on pace to eclipse nuclear production as well in 2021 (by 6.5%)