This April, renewables were put to the test like
never before. For the first time in United States history, clean energy sources
shouldered more of the nation's electricity needs than coal.
A monthly report from the Energy Information
Administration shows that renewables such as wind, solar, and hydroelectric
dams provided 23 percent of the month's electricity, while coal supplied only
20 percent.
The difference boils down to roughly 8.5 million
megawatt-hours less of fossil fuel-driven power. It's also the least amount of
coal the US has burned in over a decade.
The accomplishment has some counting down the
years until coal is a thing of the past. A recent report, published just after
April, noted that in the past three years alone, the number of coal-fired power
plants being developed around the world has plummeted.
Even in the US, where President Donald Trump has
promised to bring back coal, 50 such plants have closed since the last
presidential election.
Combined with the lowering cost of renewables and
the rapid spread of 'clean' technology, the overall trend is enough to turn our
energy system on its head. Still, the month of April was marked by some unusual
events which helped set the stage for this major milestone.
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