Good news as natural gas, coal, and solar see the biggest changes.

Good news as natural gas, coal, and solar see the biggest changes.

Just before the holiday break, the US Energy Information Agency released data on the country’s electrical generation. Because of delays in reporting, the monthly data runs through October, so it doesn’t provide a complete picture of the changes we’ve seen in 2023.

But some of the trends now seem locked in for the year: wind and solar are likely to be in a dead heat with coal, and all carbon-emissions-free sources combined will account for roughly 40 percent of US electricity production.

  • Wooster@startrek.websiteEnglish
    0·
    11 months ago

    Hydroelectric production has dropped by about six percent since last year, causing it to slip from 6.1 percent to 5.8 percent of the total production. Depending on the next couple of months, that may allow solar to pass hydro on the list of renewables.

    That’s a little disappointing. Hydro seems to always be forgotten amongst renewable sources. Granted, it’s the most location specific of the renewables, but still.

    • RainfallSonata@lemmy.world
      0·
      11 months ago

      As water sources dry up, I can’t imagine production won’t drop. And building any more dams would be politically controversial.