Wind farms pumped out more electricity than coal-fired power stations in the US across March and April 2024, signifying a clear milestone in the declining fortunes of fossil fuels and the rise of renewables. 

Data from the US Energy Information Administration (IEA) shows that March and April were the first two consecutive months in which US wind-powered electricity generation outpaced coal. Although wind electricity generation briefly exceeded coal-fired generation for the first time in April 2023, it did not do so again for another 11 months.

In March 2024, around 45.9 terawatthours (TWh) of electricity was produced by wind turbines in the US, compared with 38.4 TWh from coal-fired power plants. In April 2024, coal-fired generation fell to 37.2 TWh, while wind generation increased to a record 47.7 TWh

Back in January, the EIA forecasted that renewable energy sources – wind, solar, hydro, biomass, and geothermal – will outpace the American production of energy from coal in 2024. It also predicted that renewables would outcompete nuclear energy.

Renewable generation surpassed coal in the US electric power sector for the first time in 2022, although there have been odd months since where this has not been the case. This year, however, renewables appear to have totally outpaced coal and are on track to continue doing so in the years ahead. 

As per E&E News, solar and wind energy alone – not including hydropower, biomass, and geothermal – has generated more power than coal through the first seven months of 2024, in yet another first for renewable resources. Solar and wind are also reportedly on track to exceed coal generation for an entire calendar year in 2024.

It’s a positive trend, but it’s worth remembering that the leading source of electricity in the US is still a carbon-emitting fossil fuel, natural gas, which accounts for 1,700 billion kWh of annual electricity generation in 2024 and 2025, similar to last year. 

The broader push away from coal is being driven by a few different factors. At least 24 states, plus the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, have enacted legislation to transition to clean energy in the decades ahead. Meanwhile, the Biden Administration's Inflation Reduction Act has incentivized the move to carbon-free energy sources using federal tax credits and deductions.

The shift is being underpinned by massive infrastructure across parts of the US, especially its most sunny and windy corners. Earlier this year, the Edwards & Sanborn Solar and Energy Storage facility became fully operational. Consisting of almost 2 million solar panels in California’s Mojave Desert, it’s the largest single solar and battery energy storage project on the entire planet (at least for now).