Easy, the previosu government destroyed coal for solar, it is easy that way.
Solar generates more energy in US than coal for first time
201–210 of 260 posts
Re: Solar generates more energy in US than coal for first time
#202+1 to the Guardian for mentioning their data source, but -1 for not linking to it. +2 for EMBER for having a data source AND being able to link to the parameters that show solar overtaking coal for the month in the US. https://ember-energy.org/data/electricity-data-explorer/?ent...
This is a great link. The most interesting feature of the solar graph is the amplitude of the seasonal variations. It looks like we typically generating ~100% more solar power in July than December. If "we need to store solar energy from summer to winter" is indeed a significant issue, maybe you could use the extra power in summertime to make natural gas [1] and then store the gas until you need it in the winter. [1]…
Other than Alaska it’s almost certainly cheaper to just over provision solar panels and curtail excess generation in the summer months as solar panels are cheaper than batteries and grid connections.
To completely decarbonise we probably will need to eventually make liquid fuels for long distance air travel. But it may make more sense to do that nearer the equator to maximise the return on the capital investment by running it constantly rather than only during the summer.
Re: Solar generates more energy in US than coal for first time
#203The growth of solar is astounding. I dug into data a while back and tried to do some visualizations of it, mainly for my own understanding: https://torkeldanielsson.se/solar-energy-forecasts/ Solar is already by far our cheapest source of energy. As solar expands, the learning rate means solar will be even cheaper. We should expect solar to be the single largest source of energy on earth by 2035.
A shame electricity is not the whole picture when it comes to energy. The resurgence in EV sales off the back of high gas prices is awesome, but almost 100% of bulk transport costs still rely on oil. Also, unlike EV's which can be plugged in at home for most of their needs, bulk-transport will require considerable new infrastructure to make the transition. Still a way to go.
There was this launched some time ago:
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-05-02/incat-launches-worlds...
It'd an electric ship, which has what is basically a grid scale battery power plant on board to power it.
The problem is range. Good enough for it's intended use as a ferry in South America. But it's going to need to be towed there from Tasmania.
Re: Solar generates more energy in US than coal for first time
#204Earlier quoted context omitted.
You can by sodium ion batteries today. They're more expensive, but work better in the cold. https://www.bluettipower.com/products/sodium-ion-battery-pio...
You can't really get them in the sort of energy density you need for an ESS at any comparable price to LFP right now, so they only really make sense in really limited spots. Ex - the closest I can find is something like: https://batteryfinds.com/product/3-1v-210ah-sodium-ionna-ion... but just compare against LFP: https://www.18650batterystore.com/products/eve-mb31-grade-a-... So... LFP: 4.0KWh @ $275.00 Sodium: 2.6KW…
Peak Energy already has 3MWh units deployed (first deployment in July 2025) and more sales on the books. Yes, they are laughably low volume vs the established lithium BESS, but it is happening and you can at least get in the queue. They are hoping to open a US plant in 2027.
Re: Solar generates more energy in US than coal for first time
#205Earlier quoted context omitted.
True though one of the major things they have been able to do because it's mostly in the federal purview is killing offshore wind.
It's sort a "broken clock right twice a day" thing, but I agree with not doing offshore wind in the US. The divergence immediately follows in that I wish they would just push onshore wind. It's sort of a circular issue, it's madly expensive because we haven't built a lot and aren't super good at it, and we don't get much of it built because we aren't great at it and it always is ludicrously expensive. The US has a un…
I think the idea of offshore wind is nice. There is a lot of ocean out there and by putting the "ugly" (I don't mind them.) turbines out of sight we get the best of both worlds.
But the realities of the idea - the engineering - is problematic.
The ocean is a harsh environment and maintaining something deliberately put out of the way in a harsher environment is far more expensive.
Re: Solar generates more energy in US than coal for first time
#206Earlier quoted context omitted.
I think that's part of what's notable about this. The administration hasn't been able to reverse the trend despite putting a massive thumb on the scale against projects like offshore wind and tariffs on solar panel imports. There's probably a delay in the effects though since projects started before they took office are probably starting to thin out and finish up. We'd have to look into the permitting of new projects…
It's especially notable because there isn't just the thumb against offshore wind, solar panel tariffs, and even EVs. Chinese EVs can't be imported because of tariffs and many conservative states a pretending that EV drivers "don't pay their fair share because they don't buy gas" - except most gas taxes haven't been adjusted in multiple decades and don't even begin to pay for the cost of maintaining roads. Fuel taxes…
It's the same in the UK. The CfD "subsidy" mechanism for solar power results in the solar farms paying us money almost every day - including today - but you will still see right wing politicians vow to eliminate this "subsidy".
Re: Solar generates more energy in US than coal for first time
#207Earlier quoted context omitted.
A lot of comes from state initiatives too. Texas being conservative also happens to be very pro solar. I’m in the business and we have some great projects there. The US military is also pushing solar at their facilities. Then you have many private-state partnerships like tolls investing a lot in solar. The outlook in general is pretty positive in the US, a lot more than what people would think.
Anyone who still even views this as a conservative/liberal issue, is someone who is in the pocket of the fossil fuel lobby. Solar is simply a very cheap and realiable way to generate electricity. Much cheaper than gas and coal nowadays. Pure economic incentive is going to continue to drive its adoption.
As someone from another continent, I giggle when I see doomsday-prepping anti-govmint fiercely-independent cowboys hating EVs and loving gas.
Gas has a 6-month shelf-life, and is attached to a whole geopolitically volatile military-industrial complex. Meanwhile an EV + solar can be actually self-sufficient and last for a decade or two. A realistic Mad Max would have been EV battles over solar panels.
Re: Solar generates more energy in US than coal for first time
#208Earlier quoted context omitted.
It’s primarily a regulatory issue, and more states in the US will approve it over the coming years.
I don't see anyone replying to you here, and I don't know what your background is in this, but I think and hope you're spot on here. The more I've read replies in this thread the more I think this is mostly regulatory and maybe slightly a hardware issue (hardware issue is that there needs to be some kind of plug on an electrical panel that would remove the risks of having to pull the face off the panel, install a new…
I've worked in clean energy for about a decade, building analytics software for DER providers (solar, batteries) and EV companies, and I build large-scale portable battery and solar systems as a hobby. I keep up with the industry and the regulatory environment closely via podcasts, newsletters, and conferences.
Re: Solar generates more energy in US than coal for first time
#209This is more from a lot of coal power plants being converted to gas over the past 20 years than solar overtaking the outputs of those power plants. Coal output shrinking, solar output rising, the lines have crossed. Coal is unpopular in all but a few areas where coal mining is still a part of the local econonmy. I used to work near a coal plant and every day I'd go out to my car and it would have little black particl…
> have little black particles all over it. Nobody likes that, no matter what the President says. Should you live near one of those big noisy "freeway" things you may note the little black particles over everything in the surroundings but nobody likes to tear down the interstate.
I have two things to say to that.
First, I live 150 yards from a major freeway - I-90 in WA, it's three lanes in each direction here. There are no tiny black particles over everything in surroundings, and my outdoors AQI (from my own sensor) is normally in single digits and basically only ever gets above 50 if it's wildfire smoke or the neighbors are burning something.
But second, if we developed a reliable and cheap way to, say, teleport people over long distances, why not tear it down?
Re: Solar generates more energy in US than coal for first time
#210Earlier quoted context omitted.
Contrary to popular belief, solar panels don't generate zero power on cloudy days. They typically generate 10-25% of their maximum output on the cloudiest of days. Most cloudy days are not maximally cloudy. We don't need solar panels everywhere to get even close to ~100% renewables (with nuclear, wind, new geothermal, and hydro). The areas where you put them are distributed enough that it would be exceptionally rare…
> They typically generate 10-25% of their maximum output on the cloudiest of days. Most cloudy days are not maximally cloudy. If you're at higher latitudes, this is notably less of a drop-off than you see between high/low season. My friends with residential solar see <10% overall output in January vs July. (~60% drop from fewer sunshine hours, ~80% drop from decreased solar irradiance.)
There's also the angle of the sun to consider, it changes quite a bit in higher latitudes between summer and winter so if you want maximum efficiency you need to tilt the cells accordingly. But I don't think most residential solar does that.