Renewable energy sources produced 10.6 percent more electricity than coal during the first two months of 2020 and also topped nuclear power in February, according to a SUN DAY Campaign analysis of data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA).
The latest issue of EIA’s “Electric Power Monthly” (with data through Feb. 29, 2020) reveals that solar and wind both showed continued growth, expanding faster than all other energy sources. During the first two months of this year, solar-generated electricity expanded by 32 percent (compared to the same period in 2019) and provided almost 2.3 percent of the nation’s total while wind grew by 19.8 percent and accounted for over 8.7 percent of total generation.
Thus, wind and solar together accounted for a bit more than 11 percent of total U.S. electrical production. Combined with hydropower, biomass, and geothermal, renewables provided 20.3 percent of total electrical output.
EIA’s data were even more dramatic for just the month of February when solar ballooned by 40.3 percent as wind expanded by 27.1 percent. Hydropower also experienced growth, increasing its output by 14.9 percent compared to a year earlier. The mix of all renewables provided 21.4 percent of the nation’s total electricity for the month. Moreover, renewables produced 21.9 percent more electricity than coal whose output was 30 percent lower than a year earlier. They also outperformed nuclear power by 3.6 percent.
“If present trends continue, electrical generation by the mix of renewable energy sources could permanently exceed that of either coal or nuclear power or both in 2020,” notes Ken Bossong, executive director of the SUN DAY Campaign, “And if not this year, then certainly that will happen in 2021.”