Solar energy passes coal power on list of largest U.S. electricity sources for first time
The Stanton Energy Center, a coal-fired power plant and the Stanton Solar Farm are seen in Orlando. (Photo by Paul Hennessy/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
The United States hit a clean energy milestone last month as the amount of electricity generated through solar power topped what was made by coal for the first time ever.
Big picture view:
Global energy think tank Ember released the new findings Wednesday, stating that solar power was responsible for 12.8% of electricity produced, while coal dropped to 12.2%. The two types of energy sources had, in a way, met in the middle as coal use plummets in the U.S. and solar is on the rise.
Ember’s data showed that coal was making nearly a fifth of U.S. electricity in May 2021 while solar usage has more than doubled in the past five years, when it was responsible for just 5.4% of power.
What they're saying:
"Overtaking coal for the first month on record shows just how far solar has come, from a niche contributor to the third-largest and fastest-growing source of power in the US electricity system," said Nicolas Fulghum, Senior Data Analyst at Ember. "From Texas to California, markets across the US are betting on solar to meet rising power needs."
The backstory:
While the switch made solar the third-largest contributor of electrical power, both it and coal each only supply about an eighth of the power needed in the U.S. That puts them far behind gas, which hovers around the 37% mark, and nuclear power, which generated nearly 18% of the electricity produced.
Dig deeper:
The rise of solar among top energy sources was the second big win of the year for supporters of renewables. Ember reported that electricity produced by all renewable sources combined passed what was generated by gas for the first time.
The Source: Information for this article was taken from Ember. This story was reported from Orlando.