Fossil fuels just hit a record low in the US electricity mix last month, while solar and wind soared to all-time highs, according to fresh data from global energy think tank Ember.
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Global energy demand spiked in 2024, driven largely by surging electricity use, according to a new report released today by the International Energy Agency (IEA). Electricity consumption jumped by nearly 1,100 terawatt-hours – a hefty 4.3% increase – nearly twice the annual average growth of the past decade.
This dramatic rise was largely fueled by the electrification of transportation, record-breaking global temperatures that ramped up cooling needs, coupled with increased industrial activity, and growing energy demand from data centers and AI applications.
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In the US in 2024, wind and solar accounted for 17% of total electricity generation, surpassing coal, which fell to a record low of 15%, according to a new report from global energy think tank Ember.
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Renewable capacity additions, especially solar, will continue to drive the growth of US power generation over the next two years, according to the US Energy Information Administration (EIA).
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Solar generated 11% of EU electricity in 2024, overtaking coal which fell below 10% for the first time, according to the European Electricity Review published today by think tank Ember.
EU gas generation declined for the fifth year in a row, and total fossil generation fell to a historic low.
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A coal plant in South Texas will shut down and convert to a solar + battery electricity generation facility, with the help of a $1.4 billion grant from the US Department of Agriculture meant to help clean energy while saving rural jobs.
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US coal giant Peabody and Germany’s RWE are teaming up to develop 5.5 gigawatts (GW) of solar and energy storage projects on former mining land in the Midwest.
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Xcel Energy has started delivering clean energy from one of the US’s largest solar farms: Sherco Solar in Minnesota. It’s a major step in the utility’s push to ditch coal and move to renewable energy across the Upper Midwest.
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The UK has marked a historic moment in its energy transition by shuttering the Ratcliffe-on-Soar Power Station in Nottinghamshire, its last remaining coal power plant.
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Renewables – solar, wind, biomass, geothermal, hydropower – are now 30% of total US electrical generating capacity, according to analysis of FERC’s mid-year data.
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State-owned power company China Three Gorges Renewables Group will build an 8 GW solar farm as part of a nearly $11 billion integrated energy project.
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Bill Gates’ TerraPower broke ground yesterday on its Natrium nuclear reactor plant, making it the first advanced reactor project ever to start construction.
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Wyoming just approved its largest solar farm – 771 megawatts (MW) of utility-scale solar plus battery storage.
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In a historic agreement, the G7 just agreed to phase out coal in the first half of the 2030s, according to statements made today.
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The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will require existing coal-fired and new natural gas-fired power plants to control 90% of their carbon emissions or shut down.
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Solar topped coal’s output in Texas for the first time in any month, sending 3.26 million megawatt-hours (MWh) onto the grid vs. coal’s 2.96 million MWh in March.
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Solar capacity additions hit the ground running in 2024, pushing renewables’ installed generating capacity past coal, according to new US Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) data.
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Both of New Hampshire’s coal plants are shutting, making New England the second coal-free region in the US.
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Renewable energy costs in Asia last year were 13% cheaper than coal and are expected to be 32% cheaper by 2030, according to a new study.
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Type One energy has announced its intention to use a retired TVA coal plant site, the Bull Run Fossil Plant in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, as the site for a prototype fusion reactor with the hope to eventually commercialize fusion power – and maybe even find a neat way to use old EV batteries to help power the process.
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The first of five planned West Virginia solar farms just came online – here’s why that’s significant for the state.
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The International Energy Agency’s latest report forecasts a decline in global coal demand by 2026, marking a potential turning point in global energy consumption.
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The oil and gas industry is banking on carbon capture as its “fix” for climate change. The IEA’s new report dispels that idea and offers real solutions.
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Half of the world’s economies are already five years past a peak in power generation from fossil fuels, new analysis from energy think tank Ember shows.
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