Solar and wind beat coal in the US for the first time
1 min read
Summary
A new report from energy think tank Ember has shown that in the US, for the first time, renewable energy sources were used more to generate electricity than coal.
In fact, coal generation represented only 15% of US electricity, with solar and wind combined providing 17%.
This growth in the use of solar and wind power comes despite the current US administration’s stated policy of reversing the push for clean energy.
However, the report also showed that solar is still somewhat behind wind in terms of the amount of electricity generated, with wind accounting for 10% of power generated, compared to solar’s 5%.
Nevertheless, solar power was the fastest-growing sector in terms of new electricity generation, accounting for 81% of new capacity, a record figure.