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Wind and solar are outperforming coal on US grid this year....
Renewables are making progress in replacing coal, but to decarbonize U.S. electricity by 2035, they’ll need to replace fossil gas too.21 July 2023 Dan McCarthy
Full article: https://www.canarymedia.com/articles/clean-energy/chart-wind-and-solar-are-outperforming-coal-on-us-grid-this-year
In the first half of this year, wind and solar generated more power than coal in the U.S., per data from Ember https://ember-climate.org/data/data-tools/data-explorer/ . Wind and solar produced 343 terawatt-hours (TWh) total between January and June 2023, while coal produced 296 TWh over the same period. Just five years ago, coal’s share of power generation was quadruple that of wind and solar combined.
-snip-
For the U.S. to meet its 2035 goal of a fully decarbonized power grid, wind and solar will need to do more than unseat coal: They’ll need to replace fossil gas, too. And as the push to electrify everything supercharges electricity demand in the U.S., renewables will need to supplant fossil gas while also growing fast enough to meet the surge of new demand.
It’s a good thing wind and solar growth is exponential.
Full article: https://www.canarymedia.com/articles/clean-energy/chart-wind-and-solar-are-outperforming-coal-on-us-grid-this-year
Full article: https://www.canarymedia.com/articles/clean-energy/chart-wind-and-solar-are-outperforming-coal-on-us-grid-this-year
In the first half of this year, wind and solar generated more power than coal in the U.S., per data from Ember https://ember-climate.org/data/data-tools/data-explorer/ . Wind and solar produced 343 terawatt-hours (TWh) total between January and June 2023, while coal produced 296 TWh over the same period. Just five years ago, coal’s share of power generation was quadruple that of wind and solar combined.
-snip-
For the U.S. to meet its 2035 goal of a fully decarbonized power grid, wind and solar will need to do more than unseat coal: They’ll need to replace fossil gas, too. And as the push to electrify everything supercharges electricity demand in the U.S., renewables will need to supplant fossil gas while also growing fast enough to meet the surge of new demand.
It’s a good thing wind and solar growth is exponential.
Full article: https://www.canarymedia.com/articles/clean-energy/chart-wind-and-solar-are-outperforming-coal-on-us-grid-this-year
From: https://rmi.org/insight/x-change-electricity/
In partnership with the Bezos Earth Fund, Global Optimism, and Systems Change Lab, RMI is pleased to present the first in a series of reports analyzing the exponential growth of renewable energy technologies globally. The series demonstrates why and how major areas of the energy system, from electricity and electric vehicles to hydrogen and heat pumps, are achieving further market penetration and getting us closer to global climate goals, faster than many realize.
Global share of electricity generation by source
Despite those who say insurmountable barriers to the energy transition are everywhere, growth keeps happening. While barriers are specific and local, solutions are generic and global and will continue to overwhelm resistance to change. As a result, fast growth will lead to a tripling in solar and wind generation by 2030 while faster growth will mean a quadrupling in generation, to produce more than 14,000 terawatt hours (TWh) and overtake fossil fuel supply.
-snip-
But this is a call to action, not a moment to sit back. Around the world, countries, in partnership with the private sector, need to build out grids, change permitting laws, scale up flexibility solutions, improve regulatory and market systems, and speed up deployment in the Global South.
Full report: https://rmi.org/insight/x-change-electricity/#download-form
In partnership with the Bezos Earth Fund, Global Optimism, and Systems Change Lab, RMI is pleased to present the first in a series of reports analyzing the exponential growth of renewable energy technologies globally. The series demonstrates why and how major areas of the energy system, from electricity and electric vehicles to hydrogen and heat pumps, are achieving further market penetration and getting us closer to global climate goals, faster than many realize.
Global share of electricity generation by source
Despite those who say insurmountable barriers to the energy transition are everywhere, growth keeps happening. While barriers are specific and local, solutions are generic and global and will continue to overwhelm resistance to change. As a result, fast growth will lead to a tripling in solar and wind generation by 2030 while faster growth will mean a quadrupling in generation, to produce more than 14,000 terawatt hours (TWh) and overtake fossil fuel supply.
-snip-
But this is a call to action, not a moment to sit back. Around the world, countries, in partnership with the private sector, need to build out grids, change permitting laws, scale up flexibility solutions, improve regulatory and market systems, and speed up deployment in the Global South.
Full report: https://rmi.org/insight/x-change-electricity/#download-form
