Wind and Solar Leading Coal for Power Generation

The U.S. marked a milestone in sustainable energy as wind and solar officially outpaced coal for power generation from January through July 2024, setting a new record. This development not only illustrates the growing capacity of green energy, but also reflects changing markets, technological advancements, and regulatory pressures that all contribute to making renewable energy economically viable.

In addition, wind energy alone generated 45.9 terrawatt hours (TWh) of electricity in March 2024, while coal generated 38.4 TWh, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). This first happened in 2023, when wind farms produced more energy than coal for one month. This year, wind generation exceeded coal in both March and April.

Wind and solar produced more power than coal last year through May, but surging summer demand allowed coal use to exceed the renewables. In 2024, the trend toward wind and solar domination may continue through the entire year, as the use of coal continues to fall due to strict emission limits and cheaper alternatives.

Renewable energy production grown exponentially in the past few years, and the EIA has forecast that wind and solar will lead growth in U.S. power generation for the next two years thanks to a continuing number of new solar projects coming online. In 2023, renewable sources, including wind, solar, hydro, biomass, and geothermal, accounted for 22% of generation.

This rise in energy supply is being met with a rise in demand, as electricity demands are up 4% through July, as compared to the same period last year. Regional electrical grid operator PJM has raised concerns about the reliability of the electric grid as coal-fired power plant retirements have taken a toll, and backlogs in bringing new renewable energy projects online continue.

The 2023 Long-Term Reliability Assessment (LTRA), published by the North American Electric Reliability Corporation forecasts a large rise in electric demand as the move toward electrification continues and identifies significant vulnerabilities that need to be addressed related to renewable energy sources, given their intermittent nature, and as the mix of power generation in North America changes. The report makes suggestions to fix these problems, but notes that if the challenges are not met the electric grid is vulnerable.