The San Gorgonio wind farm near Rancho Mirage in California. The falling cost of renewables and gas causing coal to be dislodged as a favored energy source for utilities. (photo: Xinhau/Barcroft)
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US generated more electricity from renewable sources than coal for the
first time ever in April, new federal government data has shown.
Clean energy such as solar and wind provided 23% of US electricity generation during the month, compared to coal’s 20%, according to the Energy Information Administration.
This represents the first time coal has been surpassed
by energy sources that do not release pollution such as planet-heating
gases.
April was a favorable month for renewables, with low
energy demand and an uptick in wind generation. This means that coal may
once again pull ahead of renewables again during 2019, although the
long-term trends appear to be set.
“The fate of coal has been sealed, the market has
spoken,” said Michael Webber, an energy expert at the University of
Texas. “The trend is irreversible now, the decline of coal is
unstoppable despite Donald Trump’s rhetoric.”
Trump has repeatedly promised to revive the fortunes
of the coal industry, to the delight of voters in mining regions in
states such as West Virginia, by repealing various clean air and climate
regulations.
However, at least 50 coal-fired power plants have shut
since Trump entered the White House in 2017. The falling cost of
renewables and gas has caused coal to be dislodged as a favored energy
source for utilities.
“Trump has made a promise that will be broken, which
is a tragedy for coal miners who were told they don’t need to get other
jobs or get new skills,” said Webber. “They have been sent the wrong
signal and now there are lay-offs.”
States such as New York and California have, in lieu
of any national climate policy, pledged to completely phase out the use
of fossil fuels. Many other states are shifting away from coal to gas,
with at least 150 new gas plants, and thousands of miles of pipeline, planned in the coming years.
Gas emits less carbon dioxide, which warms the planet,
than coal and it is not associated with the same health problems caused
by air pollution. But it is still a fossil fuel and some
environmentalists have raised concerns that a broad expansion will
jeopardize the ability to eliminate greenhouse gas emissions by
mid-century, a goal scientists say is essential to avoid the worst
ravages of the climate crisis.
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