Figures by the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) also show coal’s share continued to erode, falling to 18.3% in February and 17.3% in March – down from levels above 50% a as recently as 2008 for the same months.
Lockdowns to contain the coronavirus outbreak slashed energy demand and accelerated a shift from coal power to renewables, which keep producing electricity at near-zero operating costs. Other reasons for the demise in coal power are low gas prices, unseasonably warm weather and new and cost-effective wind and solar capacity connecting to the grid.
Energy demand destruction due to the coronavirus pandemic could see renewables surpass thermal energy sources already this year, rather than in 2021 as forecast by the U.S. Energy Administrations.
In its latest projections, the EIA had estimated projects electricity generation from renewable sources such as wind and solar to surpass nuclear and coal next year and to surpass natural gas in 2045.
Learning rates for wind and solar PV technologies are assumed to lead to 40% drop in capital cost by 2050, pushing up the market share of in the U.S. energy mix to 19% in 2019 to 38% in 2050.
Deployment of renewables varies greatly across the United States. Wind-powered generation grows the most in the West and Mid-Continent regions, and solar-powered generation grows the most in the Southeast. Offshore wind is only built off the coast of the Northeast and the PJM Interconnection.