The United States will likely get more power in 2021 from renewable energy than from coal, the Institute for Energy Economic and Financial Analysis has projected, CNN reported.
“The next piece of the energy transition is very close at hand,” Greentech Capital Advisors partner PJ Deschenes said. “Coal is coming offline as fast or faster than we anticipated,” while solar and wind power continue to grow rapidly.
Coal provided about half of the nation’s power generation between 2000 and 2010, but its usage began to decline sharply late in the last decade due to the abundance of cheap natural gas.
Coal’s market share is expected to fall below 22% next year, compared with 28% last year.
A stunning example of this transition is in Texas, where wind made up just 0.8% of its power as of 2003 but is now at 22%, according to Carbon Brief.
The same trend is also occurring overseas, as global electricity production from coal is seen as falling by a record 3% this year.
