• Light/Dark
  • Ever wanted an RSS feed of all your favorite gaming news sites? Go check out our new Gaming Headlines feed! Read more about it here.

CNN: America's renewable energy capacity is now greater than coal

nintendoman58

nintendoman58

Member
Oct 25, 2017
4,106
America's coal industry has already been left in the dust by natural gas. Now it's under immense pressure from the renewable energy boom.

The renewable energy sector had slightly more installed capacity than coal in April, according to a Federal Energy Regulatory Commission report.

That means US power plants can produce more energy from clean sources than coal for the first time in history, according to the SUN DAY Campaign, a nonprofit research group supporting sustainable energy. The breakthrough reflects the plunging cost of solar and wind as well as heightened environmental concern about coal.

"Coal has no technology path," said Jeff McDermott, managing partner at Greentech Capital Advisors, a boutique investment bank focused on clean energy. "It's got nowhere to go but extinction."
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

The clean energy revolution is on the verge of a tipping point.
Also in April, the renewable energy sector was projected to have generated more electricity than coal, according to a separate report published by the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis. That transition was partially driven by seasonal issues.
At the same time, America has drastically cut back on its appetite for coal. Since peaking in 2008, US coal consumption has plunged 39% to the lowest level in 40 years, according to the US Energy Information Administration.

"The government can tap on the brakes or accelerate this movement -- but this progress will continue moving forward," said Matthew Hoza, senior energy analyst at consulting firm BTU Analytics. "For the most part, the public is calling for renewables."
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

More at the link.
 
EssBeeVee

EssBeeVee

Member
Oct 25, 2017
22,741
Inb4 trump finds a way to ban renewable energy from going further just to push clean coal.
 
Muppet of a Man

Muppet of a Man

Member
Oct 27, 2017
7,667
Good. Unfortunately, base load power is now largely provided by natural gas, which isn't much better. Next gen nuclear is needed to replace them.
 
Lafazar

Lafazar

Member
Oct 25, 2017
1,578
Bern, Switzerland
Jp77wvt.png

Source: https://www.smbc-comics.com/comic/capacity
 
hurlex

hurlex

Member
Oct 25, 2017
3,142
While Natural Gas was crucial in cutting emissions by getting people off coal, it also needs to be replaced.
 
Masoyama

Masoyama

Attempted to circumvent a ban with an alt account
Banned
Oct 27, 2017
5,648
People have already mentioned installed capacity vs energy but also, this includes rooftop solar which has a lower usage factor and a higher maintenance cost than transmission level solar.
 
Walter White Walker

Walter White Walker

Member
Oct 27, 2017
21,499
And two more coal plants are shutting down by the end of this year, making Washington state coal-free:
https://www.seattlepi.com/local/pol...tdown-plants-part-owned-by-Puget-13969689.php
Two aging Montana coal plants, part-owned by Puget Sound Energy, will cease operations by the end of 2019, more than two years before the previously announced phaseout date.

The plants, Colstrip 1 and 2, were built in the mid-1970's and cannot compete with natural gas and renewable energy.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

Puget Sound Energy is part-owner of Units 1 and 2. The Bellevue-based utility must live with recently passed legislation that would phase out generation and/or use of coal power in Washington by 2025.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
 
cakely

cakely

Member
Oct 27, 2017
13,149
Chicago
Hold on ... this is actually really positive news? On the EtcetEra side?

I need to take a moment to appreciate this.

Also, suck it, coal.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.