A big shift is coming in how the country gets its electricity, according to a prediction from the U.S. Department of Energy.
Wind and solar together are poised to overtake coal next year in generating U.S. electricity.
That’s a prediction made this month by the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
Renewables, including hydro, geothermal and biomass, overtook coal for the first time in 2022.
The federal agency forecasts a rapid expansion of solar in 2024, amounting to 37 gigawatts.
Coal this year fell below 20 percent of the nation’s electricity mix for the first time, ending 2023 at 17 percent. Next year, the federal agency forecasts it will fall to 15 percent.
Natural gas will continue to be the nation’s dominant fuel for electricity, at 42 percent.