For the first time last year, the United States reached a milestone where solar and wind energy together generated more electricity than coal, according to the organization EMBER. Wind and solar accounted for 17 percent of total electricity production, while coal’s share dropped to an all-time low of just 15 percent.
Although the share of natural gas increased due to higher electricity demand, solar energy covered a significant portion of this rising demand.
Solar remained the fastest-growing source of electricity, with a 27 percent increase in generation in 2024, surpassing hydropower for the first time. Wind energy also grew by seven percent. Just six years ago, coal’s share was three times higher than the combined share of wind and solar energy.
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The rapid expansion of solar energy has been enabled by battery development. For instance, last year, California had over 30 percent of its energy mix coming from solar for the first time. This was made possible by installing 20 percent more battery capacity than solar capacity, allowing a substantial portion of the energy produced during the day to be stored for evening hours.
Despite a slight increase in fossil fuel generation and a 0.7 percent rise in CO2 emissions, the growth in energy demand was significantly higher than the increase in emissions. This resulted in the cleanest electricity per unit ever recorded.
However, the growth of solar energy has not been uniform across all states. As many as 28 states generated less than five percent of their electricity from solar sources last year, highlighting that the potential of this renewable energy source remains largely underutilized.
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