BAKU, Azerbaijan, August 16. The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) has reported that US wind-generated electricity reached new heights this past spring, outpacing coal-fired generation in both March and April, Trend reports.
According to the EIA's July review, this marks the first time that wind generation has exceeded coal for two consecutive months, setting a record for wind power output in April.
In March 2024, wind installations across the US generated 45.9 terawatt-hours (TWh) of electricity, surpassing coal's 38.4 TWh. April saw wind generation rise further to a record-breaking 47.7 TWh, while coal-fired generation dropped to 37.2 TWh. Despite this, coal still generated 15% more electricity than wind during the first four months of the year.
This milestone underscores a significant shift in the U.S. energy landscape. Twenty years ago, in March 2004, coal-fired plants produced 154.3 TWh of electricity, dwarfing the mere 1.3 TWh generated by wind. However, over the last 25 years, wind power capacity has surged, growing from 2.4 gigawatts (GW) in 2000 to an impressive 150.1 GW by April 2024. In contrast, coal capacity has been nearly halved, falling from 315.1 GW to 177.1 GW during the same period.
The EIA also highlighted changes in other energy sources. Since 2000, solar power generation has increased by 99.1 TWh, while natural gas, which often outcompetes coal in price, has seen a rise of 287.6 TWh in electricity generation.
Despite the slowdown in new wind capacity installations following record additions in 2020 and 2021, the EIA anticipates 7.1 GW of new wind capacity to be added in 2024. Meanwhile, coal retirements are expected to slow, with 2.8 GW of coal-fired capacity scheduled for retirement in 2024, following the retirement of 22.3 GW over the past two years.