New Energy Crossing Over

Solar, wind and hydro power could soon surpass coal

Matt Egan, November 26, 2019 (CNN)

“…Solar and wind power are growing so rapidly that for the first time ever, the United States will likely get more power in 2021 from renewable energy than from coal…Coal provided about half of America's power generation between 2000 and 2010. However, coal usage started to fall sharply late in the last decade because of the abundance of cheap natural gas. Coal was dethroned by natural gas in 2016…Despite President Donald Trump's promise to save coal, the industry's decline has only continued. This was underlined by last month's bankruptcy of Murray Energy, America's largest private coal mining company...

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US power plants are expected to consume less coal next year than at any point since 1978…That will cause coal's market share to drop below 22%, compared with 28% in 2018… Global electricity production from coal is on track to fall by a record 3% in 2019…[It is] driven by record declines from Germany and South Korea as well as the first dip in India in at least three decades…If the crossover doesn't occur in 2021, it will without a doubt do so by 2022…This transition has already played out in Texas…During the first half of this year, wind power surpassed coal for the first time…Wind made up just 0.8% of the Lone Star State's power as of 2003. That figure has climbed to 22%, compared with 21% for coal…” click here for more

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