In 2024, solar and wind combined generated more electricity than coal for the first time!
That’s one of many fascinating stats from Ember Energy Research’s look at US electricity (See chart below of share of generation, which I made from the report data, so any errors are mine).
Some highlights…
Rise of renewables:
☀️ Solar + wind: 17%
🏭 Coal: 15%
🔥 Gas: 43%
📊 Solar topped hydro for the first time
🌬️ 24 states get more power from wind/solar than coal
💪 In 6 states, wind/solar are #1 source: KS, IA, NM, SD, CO
🏜️ CA & NV: 30%+ solar
[📌 All data is actual generation, not capacity, which critics point out isn’t the full story (Yes, solar doesn’t make power at night. We know.) But for the capacity-focused: 81% of new additions were solar.]
Other 2024 highlights:
🔋 1MW of battery storage added per 3MW of solar (and rising), which helps a lot with that whole night-time thing.
🚗 20% of new cars were electrified (9% full EVs)
🔥 57% of new space heating was heat pumps
📈 Electricity demand rose 3% (against trend), likely driven by a hot summer, plus data centers, EVs, and crypto
The clean energy shift is happening.
Lack of federal support won’t help, but it won’t stop it either.
[See discussion on this on LinkedIn]
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