Curtis Tate Published

Wind, Solar Outpaced Coal In First Five Months Of Year, Data Show

Wind turbines on a ridge tower over the deserted Corridor H highway in northern West Virginia against an overcast sky.
Wind turbines on a ridge tower over the deserted Corridor H highway in northern West Virginia.
Curtis Tate/West Virginia Public Broadcasting
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Coal continues to fall behind renewables, according to data from the first five months of the year.

Wind and solar, for the first time, outpaced coal in the five months ending May 31, according to federal data tracked by the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis.

Nationwide, wind and solar together accounted for 252.6 million megawatt hours of electricity, versus 249.4 million megawatt hours for coal.

Additionally, estimates for April put wind alone ahead of coal: 42.7 million megawatt hours versus 42 million. 

April is typically a month when coal plant operators perform scheduled maintenance, between the higher-demand winter and summer seasons.

For the first five months of the year, coal fell below its levels during and before COVID, which was 252 million megawatt hours in 2020 and 380 million megawatt hours in 2019.

Lower natural gas prices are another factor squeezing coal out of the market.

Gas is the nation’s largest source of electricity, at nearly 600 million megawatt hours through the end of May.