Renewable Tuesday: US Wind + Solar > Coal
We reached a major tipping point last year in changing over to renewables: In 28 states, and the US as a whole, we have more wind and solar energy than coal. That means the US is more than half way to Net Zero, when we can start toward going Carbon Negative.
Chart: These states get more power from clean energy than coal, Dan McCarthy, Canary Media, March 21, 2025.
The U.S. hit a major energy-transition milestone last year: For the first time ever, it produced more electricity from wind and solar than from coal.
Over half of U.S. states now get more power from breeze-blown turbines and sun-soaked photovoltaic panels than they do from polluting, planet-warming coal, according to a new report from think tank Ember.✂️
Two decades ago, the country got about half of its electricity from coal-fired power plants. Today that number is just 15%. Wind and solar have ascended over the same time period. Together they now produce 17% of U.S. electricity, and solar is set to lead power capacity additions again this year.
Ember: US Electricity 2025 – Special Report
The US clean electricity transition continued as wind and solar generated more than coal for the first time. Electricity demand growth sped up and solar generation rose more quickly than gas to help meet it.
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Canary Media: Chart: Solar, batteries to lead US power plant construction in 2025
The country is set to build a record 63 gigawatts of new power this year as demand surges — and almost all of it will be carbon-free.
The U.S. is expected to build 63 gigawatts of power plant capacity this year, more than it has in decades, as new AI computing and domestic manufacturing projects cause a surge in energy demand. At this crucial juncture, plants that don’t burn fossil fuels are set to deliver 93% of all the new capacity joining the U.S. grid in 2025, per new estimates from the federal Energy Information Administration.
The current maladministration is dead set against all of this, but is helpless to do anything worse than refuse new licenses for offshore wind, shill for Tesla at the White House, and chant “Drill, Baby, Drill”. Meanwhile Texas continues to lead the country in wind, solar, and battery storage installations, and Tesla stock continues its historic cratering.
Note: I meant to write more about Not The End of the World today, but I had to return it to the library, and I’m now 7th out of 7 to check it out again. We will get there, but for now, it’s back to regular news.