Home News US Makes Historical Shift as Renewable Power Generation Overtakes Coal in 2020

US Makes Historical Shift as Renewable Power Generation Overtakes Coal in 2020

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In Europe, renewable sources like solar, wind, hydroelectric, biomass and geothermal are providing more energy than fossil fuels. In the US, this is also happening – the US Energy Information Administration has announced that in 2022 renewables passed coal to become the main energy source. Not only did they overtake coal but they overtook nuclear in 2021 and now have around 21% share of all energy production combined.

Electricity sources, such as wind and solar, became bigger while coal declined in 2021. The amount of electricity produced by wind increased from 133 gigawatts to 141 gigawatts. Hydro was the second leading source followed by solar, biomass and geothermal. Coal’s share of the energy market dropped to 20%, which was mostly due to some coal power plants being closed or stopped working. Nuclear energy stayed about the same, but a closure of Michigan’s Palisades powerplant caused it to drop down to 19%.

California and Texas lead the way with renewable energy sources. California is number one in solar power production, generating 26 percent of the power. Texas has the same amount when it comes to winds that generate energy. Besides this, Texas also produces more coal and natural gas than other states.

In 2022, natural gas was the biggest source of electricity in the United States, making up 39% of all power. Clean energy sources such as solar and wind were also growing, despite efforts to stop them with extra rules. This will likely carry on under President Biden’s new government. In fact, he already gave the green light to build a big offshore wind farm – the first one ever in America! At the same time, experts think that coal use will fall to only 17%. Natural gas might still be number one but it now has competition from other types of clean energy.

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