The U.S. energy landscape has reached a historic turning point. Wind and solar power have surpassed coal generation for the first time in 2024. Renewables now produce 17% of America’s electricity, while coal provides just 15%. This shift ends fossil fuels’ century-long dominance of the power grid. Technological improvements and falling costs have accelerated renewable adoption across the country. The question remains how quickly this change will continue in coming years.
As the sun set on 2024, a new dawn emerged in America’s energy landscape. For the first time in U.S. history, wind and solar power combined generated more electricity than coal, marking a historic shift in how Americans power their homes and businesses. Wind and solar now account for 17% of all electricity generation, while coal has fallen to an all-time low of 15%.
This milestone comes during a year when electricity demand increased by 3%, yet renewable energy still managed to outshine coal. Ten states now generate half or more of their electricity from renewable sources, showing this isn’t just a national trend but a transformation happening in communities across America.
Solar energy grew by an impressive 27% in 2024, adding 64 terawatt-hours to the grid, while wind contributed an additional 32 TWh. The decreasing cost of these technologies has helped speed up their adoption. Texas leads the nation with 119,836 GWh generated from wind energy in 2023. Now, renewable sources make up 30% of all utility-scale electricity generation capacity.
Coal’s decline has been steady since 2007, when tighter regulations and market competition began pushing it out of favor. The U.S. is on track to close half of its peak coal capacity by 2026, following the lead of other countries that have already completed their coal phase-outs.
The shift to renewables has considerably reduced the carbon intensity of U.S. power generation. When solar and wind replace coal-fired electricity, they help cut emissions and fight climate change. Improvements in battery storage technology have been crucial to supporting this renewable energy growth. Natural gas generation also grew in 2024, but solar alone outpaced gas in new generation capacity.
America’s renewable revolution isn’t just changing how we power our nation—it’s changing our climate future.
Record investments poured into renewable power infrastructure last year, creating more jobs in solar, wind, and battery storage than those lost in fossil fuels. This economic shift reflects changing priorities as capital moves away from fossil fuels toward clean energy.
As renewables now stand as America’s second-largest source of electric power behind natural gas, the 100-year dominance of fossil fuels appears to be coming to an end. States like California and Nevada have become renewable energy leaders with solar share exceeding 30% of their electricity mix.
