Is renewable energy on track to dethrone coal energy as the main source of energy for Americans? This April’s energy production shows that it might be, but the battle for cleaner energy is still ongoing.
April 2019 Energy Production
Last April, for the first time ever, the production of renewable energy in the United States surpassed the production of energy from coal. This is bad news for the coal industry, but good news for the planet as energy production moves toward cleaner sources of energy.
According to the report by the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA), the trend will likely continue in May, sporadically throughout the year, and in 2020 as well. This is despite the many setbacks experienced by the renewable energy sector, with politicians calling for more investments in coal and Federal subsidies for renewable energy being cut in half.
However, it is also important to consider that coal plants do tend to shut down during springtime for repairs, at the same time when hydrogeneration is at its peak. That said, this is still a momentous achievement in the cause to move toward renewable energy.
Road To Cleaner Energy
Does this mean that the United States is on the way to transitioning from coal to renewable energy? The road is still long on the journey toward renewable energy, but the movement is constant. In fact, in Texas, renewable energy sources such as natural gas, wind, and solar are steadily pushing coal out, with wind and solar energy topping coal energy production in the first quarter of 2019.
Furthermore, states such as Hawaii, New Mexico, California, and many others have also pledged to make aggressive clean energy plans, which will likely push the clean energy movement even faster.
Evidently, the coal sector does not find these movements to be important, but it does indicate the steady movement toward cleaner energy and away from coal. What’s more, the changes are said to be happening even faster than forecast. In fact, according to IEEFA research analyst Dennis Wamstead, this transition was not close to occurring five years ago.
Carbon Emissions
That said, the battle toward reducing carbon emissions is still under way. Last year, the United States’ carbon emissions rose instead of declined, primarily due to the carbon emissions of the transport sector rather than power plants.
This shows perhaps that apart from making the transition to clean energy, there are also many other aspects that need to be dealt with if we are to truly cut down on carbon emissions.
