Climate Changed
For First Time, Renewables Surpass Coal in U.S. Power Mix
- New wind, solar farms helped boost renewable energy output
- Some coal plants were idled for routine spring maintenance
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For the clearest sign yet that renewable energy has gone mainstream, consider this: Clean-energy resources supplied more of America’s electricity than coal for the first time ever in April.
Hydroelectric dams, solar panels and wind turbines generated almost 68.5 million megawatt-hours of power in April, eclipsing the 60 million that coal produced that month, Energy Information Administration data released late Tuesday show. That’s the most clean power the U.S. has ever made -- and the least coal it has burned for power in years.