Wind and solar power generated more electricity in the United States than coal last year for the first time in history, according to a new report from the think tank Ember. Coal has fallen to an all-time low, generating 15 percent of the country’s electricity, compared to 17 percent from solar and wind combined.
The federal government under the Trump administration has been sharply reticent about clean energy. But the gains made last year show that market forces can continue to advance, despite President Donald Trump’s disdain for windmills and solar panels.
According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, solar power was the fastest-growing source of electricity in 2024, accounting for 81 percent of annual capacity additions. Utility-scale solar power grew by a record 31 gigawatts. For comparison, one gigawatt of capacity is equivalent to 1.9 million photovoltaic panels.
Solar power hit a historic low in 2020, becoming the cheapest source of electricity in most parts of the world. While solar supply chains are still concentrated in China, U.S. solar module manufacturing capacity grew 190 percent last year, according to a separate report released this week by the Solar Energy Industries Association and Wood Mackenzie. According to both reports, Texas saw the most solar growth and also has the most module manufacturing capacity — not bad for a state that has historically been a hub for the oil and gas industry.
Wind generation has seen more modest growth, but it is still about twice as big a source of electricity as solar, and accounts for about 10 percent of the U.S. electricity mix. Like solar, onshore wind tends to be a cheaper source of electricity than coal or gas.
All of these trends could help shield renewable energy companies from the Trump administration’s crackdown on everything related to tackling the climate crisis. Federal agencies have been trying to cut funding for renewable energy projects. Trump, who accepted tens of millions of dollars in campaign contributions from oil and gas companies, never misses an opportunity to smear solar and wind projects. He frequently spreads misinformation that falsely links whale deaths to offshore wind projects, and he signed an executive order to halt federal permits and leases for wind farms on federal lands and waters. And his tariff threats on goods from Canada and China could raise the cost of new energy projects.
Still, U.S. electricity demand is rising after 14 years of stagnation thanks to improvements in energy efficiency. According to Ember, electricity demand grew by 3% last year, the fifth-largest jump this century. The rise of energy-hungry data centers with artificial intelligence, cryptocurrencies, electric cars, and home appliances has led to a surge in interest in developing new energy sources, from renewables to nuclear reactors and gas plants.
The surge in demand led to a 3.3% increase in electricity generation from gas-fired power plants last year. Coal generation peaked in 2007, when it was replaced by a boom in fracking. And while gas produces less of the planet-warming carbon dioxide than coal, it is still a potent source of pollution that contributes to climate change.
The third report on national electricity demand, released this week for a variety of trade groups, including the Clean Energy Association, the American Petroleum Institute and the Nuclear Energy Institute, says the nation’s electricity grid needs significant growth. The U.S. will need to install 900 gigawatts of renewables and batteries by 2040, the report says. The report also suggests installing up to 100 gigawatts of new gas-fired capacity, though that falls short of what researchers say is needed to stave off a deepening climate crisis that is already underway.
“Solar is winning,” Ember’s chief analyst Dave Jones said in a press release. “It will add more generation than gas by 2024, and batteries will enable solar to grow more cheaply and faster than gas.”
Of course, there’s still plenty of room for growth, given that about 60 percent of the country’s electricity is generated from fossil fuels. But, Ember said, renewables have come a long way since 2018, when coal still produced three times as much electricity as solar and wind combined.
