For the first time, wind and solar energy supplied more power than coal in the United States last year, according to an analysis from the Rhodium Group, a think tank focused on economic and policy challenges such as energy systems.
The amount of power supplied by coal plants fell to the lowest level since 1967, according to the report.
Coal generation is estimated to further decline this year and in the future, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). The EIA forecasts a slow decline in coal production in 2025, as utilities rely more heavily on inventories to meet demand, and for production to remain flat in 2026 as demand from utilities is met by stockpiles. Higher natural gas prices may help maintain coal generation, according to the EIA.
The share of solar and wind energy combined accounted for 16% of the electricity mix, increasing nearly two percentage points from 2023, according to Rhodium Group. Solar generation rose by 32% from 2023 levels, while wind generation rose by 7%, outpacing the 4% growth in natural gas generation.
Solar energy accounted for 64% of all new electricity-generating capacity added to the U.S. grid in Q3 in 2024, according to the Solar Energy Industries Association’s (SEIA) Solar Market Insight Report from December 2024.
U.S. solar generation capacity is expected to grow over the next few years. About 37 gigawatts (GW) of solar capacity was added in 2024, and the EIA forecasts that the electric power sector will add 26 GW of new utility-scale solar capacity in 2025 and 22 GW in 2026. This added capacity will increase U.S. solar generation by 34% in 2025 and 17% in 2026, according to the EIA.
The EIA also expects generation from wind and hydropower to increase in 2025 and 2026. New utility-scale battery storage projects help renewables integrate into the power grid, and EIA forecasts battery storage capacity to grow by 47%, or 14 GW, in 2025 and 25%, or 11 GW, in 2026.
Natural gas remained the largest single source of power—making up nearly 43% of the electric grid’s generation mix, 1 percentage point higher than in 2023, according to Rhodium Group. The EIA forecasts that growth in generation from renewables will decrease natural gas generation by 3% in 2025 and another 1% in 2026.
About The Author
Chertock is a poet and renewable energy and science journalist in the Washington, D.C., area. Contact her at [email protected].