It’s Friday, May 8, and renewables are on a winning streak.
The COVID-19 pandemic has sent energy demand tumbling. While people are using more electricity at home, the commercial and industrial sectors are using much less than usual, leading to a significant overall decline in power usage. And it just so happens that the U.S. is entering peak solar energy season.
That’s bad news for fossil fuel-based energy sources, according to a new report released this week, which showed that electricity generated by solar, wind, hydro, and other renewables has outpaced electricity generated by coal for 40 days straight — a new record.
The report from the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis, based on data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), shows how vulnerable coal-fired power is to fluctuations in demand, despite President Trump’s best efforts to save the industry. Every single day between March 25 and May 3, wind and hydroelectric power combined provided more energy to the grid than all of the country’s coal-fired plants. The report shows that the coronavirus might push renewables to outperform coal on an annual basis for the first time in history this year.
In general, demand for coal-fired power is supposed to slump by 20 percent this year, the EIA said. Renewables, on the other hand, are poised to grow by 11 percent. In other words, it’s clear which way the wind is blowing.
The Smog
Need-to-know basis
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