For the first time in the U.S., renewables generate more power than natural gas

Ericson2314

Good stuff. But I would blame the Trump admin more then data centers for coal power plants staying on line. Gas would substitute for the coal ata minimum otherwise. > Nine coal power plants that were set for retirement last year have had their operating lives extended, including five in response to emergency orders from the Department of Energy. Maybe the other 4 still stay open without the bullshit DoE order keeping the 5 open, but who knows.

mchusma

I do think the Iran crisis should continue to push countries towards nuclear + solar. Like Ukraine helped shift some in Europe back to supporting nuclear after foolishly shutting down reactors.

itopaloglu83

I wonder how good it could be if the governments offered the exact same amount of subsidies to renewable energy they offer to coal and petroleum, including indirect subsidies like distribution infrastructure etc.

mekdoonggi

Extending the life of existing power infra is low-hanging fruit for more power short term, but the economics of renewables are just unstoppable. Article states 93% of new generation capacity was renewable which is good, but I can sense that nimbyism is growing towards wind and solar. Not to mention the animus towards China who has wisely cornered manufacturing of these. The US has shot itself in the foot because of its energy dependence on its own energy source. The resource curse strikes again.

ike2792

I don't think this article did the math right. In the linked source from the article ( https://ember-energy.org/data/electricity-data-explorer/?ent... ), in 03/2026 combined generation from hydro (26 TWh), wind (53), solar (27.7), bioenergy (3.82), and other renewables (1.51) is 112.03 TWh, vs 120 TWh for natural gas. It's still an impressive number but it is still slightly less than natural gas.

dyauspitr

For everyone confused by all the different ways, these things are measured. Here’s the simplest breakdown. Total U.S. energy use: about 27.6 million GWh/yr From renewables: about 2.5 million GWh/yr Renewables’ share of total energy: about 9% This includes the total energy usage, including cars and buses and propane for heating homes and like just about everything else. This is the number we need to maximize.

aidenn0

Fusion power has gone from 30 years away to just 8 light-minutes away.

dxxvi

But the energy prices (electricity and gas) don't go down :-( Then "renewables generate more power than natural gas" is not very meaningful.