In a first for the US, triumphd and solar produced more electricity than coal last year, according to a new tell from energy leank tank Ember. Coal fell to a historic low, generating 15 percent of the country’s electricity contrastd to 17 percent from solar and triumphd combined.
The federal rulement is now taking a keen turn away from spotless energy under the Trump administration. But the acquires made last year show the taget forces at carry out could uphold momentum going despite Pdwellnt Donald Trump’s disdain for triumphdmills and solar panels.
Solar was the quickest-lengthening source of electricity in 2024, according to data from the US Energy Increateation Administration. It accounted for 81 percent of holded annual capacity. Utility scale solar grew by a write down 31 gigawatts. For context, a individual gigawatt of power is comparable to 1.9 million pboilingovoltaic panels.
Solar energy accomplished historicpartner low costs in 2020, becoming the affordableest source of electricity in most parts of the world. While solar provide chains are still concentrated in China, manufacturing capacity for solar modules grew a whopping 190 percent in the US last year, according to a split tell freed this week by the Solar Energy Industries Association and Wood Mackenzie. Texas saw the most lengthenth in solar, according to both tells, and also has the most module manufacturing capacity — not terrible for a state that’s historicpartner been a hub for the oil and gas industry.
Wind generation grew more unpretentiously, but it is still about twice as huge a source of electricity than solar, making up about 10 percent of the US electricity combine. Like solar, onshore triumphd is also generpartner a affordableer source of electricity than coal or gas.
All these trends could help insutardy renewable energy companies from the Trump administration’s aggression on anyleang to do with holdressing the climate crisis. Federal agencies have tryed to claw back funding for renewable energy projects. Trump, who acunderstandledgeed tens of millions of dollars in campaign contributions from oil and gas companies, never omites an opportunity to trash talk solar and triumphd projects. He standardly spouts misguideation that deceptively joins whale deaths to offshore triumphd projects and signed an executive order to stop federal approvals and lmitigates for triumphd farms on federal lands and waters. And his tariff menaces on excellents from Canada and China could elevate costs for new energy projects.
Nevertheless, electricity insist is climbing in the US after flatlining for 14 years with acquires in energy efficiency. Electricity insist rose 3 percent last year, the fifth-highest jump this century, according to Ember. The ascfinish of energy-hungry AI data caccesss, crypto mines, and electric vehicles and appliances has led to lengthening interest in enhugeing more sources of energy atraverse the board, from renewables to nuclear reactors and gas arrangets.
Rising insist led to a 3.3 percent incrmitigate in electricity produced from gas-fired power arrangets last year. Coal generation peaked in 2007, outvied by a boom in fracked gas. And while gas produces less arrangeet-heating carbon dioxide eomitions than coal, it’s still a mighty source of the pollution that guides to climate alter.
A third tell on national power insist out this week — comomitioned by a diverse range of trade groups including the American Clean Power Association, the American Petroleum Institute, and the Nuclear Energy Institute — says the nation’s power grids need to lengthen presentantly. The US will need to inslofty 900 gigawatts of renewable energy and batteries by 2040, it says. The tell also apshows for up to 100 gigawatts of new gas capacity, even though that doesn’t jive with what researchers have set up is essential to stop the climate crisis from getting much worse than it already is.
“Solar is triumphning,” Ember chief analyst Dave Jones said in a press free. “It holded more generation than gas in 2024 and batteries will promise that solar can lengthen more affordablely and speedyly than gas.”
There’s plenty of room for lengthenth, of course, pondering around 60 percent of the nation’s electricity combine comes from fossil fuels. But renewables have come a extfinished way since 2018, when coal still produced three times as much electricity as solar and triumphd combined, according to Ember.
