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Wind and solar generated more power than gas globally in April 2026

electrek.co

11–20 of 405 posts

Re: Wind and solar generated more power than gas globally in April 2026

#11
post #8

Solar and progress on better batteries is a more consequential and useful technological revolution than AI. Should be a huge story, but there's not enough money to be made via speculation so it's not.

why is it? of course now this is true. But people investing money in the future of AI, a future where AI can produce an enormous amount of goods.

When will AI start producing goods?

Re: Wind and solar generated more power than gas globally in April 2026

#12
post #5

Renewable energy offers a competitive advantage for any energy intensive activity --- like manufacturing or AI. China gets it, the USA doesn't.

Even so, the article says it grew 8% YOY in the US. The best is to hope that this is an unstoppable trend so that even politicians won't be able to reverse it.

It’s already irreversible, but it’s just disappointing to see how the U.S. administration has chosen to actively fight against it, while other countries like China are embracing reality.

It’s actually funny if you don’t think about it too hard. The U.S. president is trying to make us more reliant on fossil fuels, while starting a war in Iran that’s led to the global fossil fuel market to be negatively impacted, forcing most Americans to pay more for fossil fuels. Who could have seen that coming? We’re doing great!

Re: Wind and solar generated more power than gas globally in April 2026

#13
post #5

Renewable energy offers a competitive advantage for any energy intensive activity --- like manufacturing or AI. China gets it, the USA doesn't.

Even so, the article says it grew 8% YOY in the US. The best is to hope that this is an unstoppable trend so that even politicians won't be able to reverse it.

Imagine how much faster it would be growing if the U.S. government wasn’t paying companies billions to not produce wind energy

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/23/climate/offshore-wind-gas...

or delaying standard approvals

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/02/04/climate/wind-solar-projec...

Re: Wind and solar generated more power than gas globally in April 2026

#14
post #9

I know some people who are adamantly against solar and wind (personally I like both but I can see some shortcomings - for example I have heard that ai datacenters are using gas at times because of its flexibility) So what are some of the best talking points to "sell" solar and wind to the unconvinced? Or will they just adopt it once it's seen everywhere?

If people have strong opinions about renewable energy, just don't waste your breath. You can't reason someone out of an opinion they arrived at unreasonably.

Re: Wind and solar generated more power than gas globally in April 2026

#15
post #9

I know some people who are adamantly against solar and wind (personally I like both but I can see some shortcomings - for example I have heard that ai datacenters are using gas at times because of its flexibility) So what are some of the best talking points to "sell" solar and wind to the unconvinced? Or will they just adopt it once it's seen everywhere?

I'm going to guess they are against it because it's "woke".

A question might be "why is it woke?"

And if it's because libtards like it, then you can point out that libtards like coffee, beer, sports, etc -- so when will they boycott those?

Re: Wind and solar generated more power than gas globally in April 2026

#16

Solar and progress on better batteries is a more consequential and useful technological revolution than AI. Should be a huge story, but there's not enough money to be made via speculation so it's not.

Nailed it. Solar, wind, and batteries are going to be the predominant form of generation in a decade, but there is no speculative benefit, so it’ll happen silently.

To be fair (and, somewhat ironically, rationally detached libertarian) that's the way it's supposed to be. We don't develop and deploy technology to make a bunch of too-online nerds rich. We develop and deploy technology to make everyone's lives better by providing goods at lower expense and lower externalized cost.

Re: Wind and solar generated more power than gas globally in April 2026

#17
post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Even so, the article says it grew 8% YOY in the US. The best is to hope that this is an unstoppable trend so that even politicians won't be able to reverse it.

It’s already irreversible, but it’s just disappointing to see how the U.S. administration has chosen to actively fight against it, while other countries like China are embracing reality. It’s actually funny if you don’t think about it too hard. The U.S. president is trying to make us more reliant on fossil fuels, while starting a war in Iran that’s led to the global fossil fuel market to be negatively impacted, forci…

"No One Could Have Predicted This!" - Nation where this happens all the time

Re: Wind and solar generated more power than gas globally in April 2026

#18
post #9

I know some people who are adamantly against solar and wind (personally I like both but I can see some shortcomings - for example I have heard that ai datacenters are using gas at times because of its flexibility) So what are some of the best talking points to "sell" solar and wind to the unconvinced? Or will they just adopt it once it's seen everywhere?

I do not think the two should be lumped together. They do both need storage but solar is more predictable. Winds can be low for extended periods.

Re: Wind and solar generated more power than gas globally in April 2026

#19
post #9

I know some people who are adamantly against solar and wind (personally I like both but I can see some shortcomings - for example I have heard that ai datacenters are using gas at times because of its flexibility) So what are some of the best talking points to "sell" solar and wind to the unconvinced? Or will they just adopt it once it's seen everywhere?

it depends. some places it makes sense, some places it doesn't.

it will be adopted when the money speaks. the good news is that money is a reasonably close proxy to "environmental benefit" (balancing the environmental costs of green infra production versus dirtiness of gas generation)

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