Renewables closing in on coal in the US

Renewable energy is rapidly catching up on coal in the United States, and is even ahead in some states, according to new research from the Energy Information Administration.

The amount of electricity generated by hydropower, wind, biomass, and geothermal sources together reached 19.2 per cent of all power generation in the US during March.

Non-hydro renewables also exceeded 10 per cent of net US power generation for the first time in March, with natural gas accounting for 34.1 per cent, and nuclear sources covering 21.8 per cent.

The share of coal in the country’s energy mix dropped to 23.8 per cent, “an unprecedented low in modern times,” according to Seth Feaster, energy-data analyst at the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA).

Texas used about 80 million tonnes of coal in 2015, the most of any state in the US, but the state saw renewables beat coal for the first time in March.

Coal’s share of electricity generation fell to 13.7 per cent, with wind accounting for 17.2 per cent, and 18 per cent for renewables as a whole.

Feaster added: “Where wind leads, solar may well follow… The Electric Reliability Council of Texas, which operates the state’s grid, said last week that solar generation in Texas—the biggest electricity market in the US—will soon overtake coal-fired generation.”

The IEEFA data also highlights the continuing decline in coal production and consumption.

The US consumed 740 million tonnes of coal for electricity purposes in 2015, according to Tom Sanzillo, IEEFA’s director of finance.