America’s power shift

If life is a highway, America just passed another renewable energy mile marker. According to new data published this week by the US Energy Information Administration, the US generated more electricity from renewable energy sources than coal last year for the first time in history.

📝 A breakdown… From 2021 to 2022, the overall share of US electricity generated by coal decreased three percentage-points to 20%. Electricity from renewable sources – including wind, hydro, solar, and geothermal – rose by two percentage-points over the same period to reach 21% of all US demand.

• Natural gas usage, which emits about half as much CO2 and methane as coal, also increased by two percentage-points to comprise 39% of US electricity generated in 2022, while nuclear power fell slightly to 19%.

☀️💨 Big picture: Over the past ten years, wind and solar power have gotten a makeover rivaling She’s All That – and now they’re that bish. Declining costs (the average US price for electricity generated by wind and solar has fallen by 70% and 90% over the past decade respectively), combined with a nationwide effort to switch from coal have made windmills and solar panels much more attractive.

And it doesn’t look like coal is getting a future revenge arc either. A January 2023 study found it currently costs more to operate nearly all existing US coal plants than it would to replace them with wind or solar projects.