The push towards renewable energy over the past several years has now reached capacity to start exceeding that of coal. Solar, wind, water, biomass, and geothermal energy sources combined are making a large impact in providing the energy needs of Americans. With a large amount of investment and research going into renewable energy, these sources are becoming cheaper to build and operate.

Use of Coal-Powered Electricity Plants on the Decline in America

With the clean energy revolution in full swing, America's dependence on coal is waning. According to the US Energy Information Administration, coal use in U.S. is at its lowest point in 39 years. In the year 2000, a total of 1,024 coal-powered electricity plants were in operation in the United States. By 2018, that number had decreased to 359.

Of course, it should be realized that the decline in coal use is not mainly attributed to renewable energy sources. In 2016, natural gas surpassed coal in electricity generation in the U.S. Natural gas power plants are cheaper and quicker to build than coal-powered plants. The burning of natural gas produces fewer polluting gases and particulates than coal. And over the years, the production of natural gas has become cheaper than getting coal to the power plants.

According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), natural gas accounted for 35% of energy production in 2018; coal 27.4%. Despite the fact that natural gas is a cleaner burning fuel than coal, it still adds to the polluting of the environment. The burning of natural gas sends a considerable amount of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. Large amounts of methane gas is released into the air during the extraction, storing, and burning of natural gas. Methane gas accounts for about 15% of greenhouse gas emissions.

Renewable Energy Capacity Matching That of Coal

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) tracks the capacity of different energy sources. The April and May capacity reports show that renewable energy sources are on par with that of coal. The April report showed renewable energy sources had a capacity of 21.74% of the total U.S. power producing ability. Coal was 21.55% of the total capacity. In May, renewable energy was down a little to 20.89%, and coal was up a little to 22.69%.

Wind and water lead the way by together providing about 75% of the total renewable energy capacity. According to the May report, wind added 19 new units so far this year. This addition gives wind an added capacity of 2,089 MW.

Eight of the ten largest wind farms in the world are located in the U.S. Five of those are in Texas. The largest wind farm in the world is located in Kern County, California. It has the capacity of creating 1,020 MW, with expansion plans to raise its capacity to 1,550 MW.

Solar has added 200 new units so far this year. This gives solar an additional 1,964 MW of capacity, allowing it to account for 2.83% of America's total power generating ability. Con Ed, a large U.S. utility company, is the second largest solar energy provider in North America. In 2018, they acquired wind and solar projects worth 2.1 billion dollars. There total green energy capacity now can reduce carbon emissions by 5.4 million metric tons each year. That is equivalent to removing 1.2 million cars off of the highway.

The present issue with renewable energy power production is that the capacity is not being used. But with the ever-present public and state pressure for green energy, power producers will continue to scale up their use of renewables. As they do over the next few years, green energy production will permanently bypass that of coal.