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Justtryme90 t1_je33m03 wrote

That's because the US makes its energy via burning natural gas. Better than coal but still not good.

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Badfickle t1_je4y6fu wrote

This is true but depends on the time scale you are looking at. Prior to 2019 gas dominated new capacity additions. The last 5 years solar and wind took over and are growing rapidly. The IRA will accelerate that trend.

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Justtryme90 t1_je50y3k wrote

Doesn't mean we shouldn't be honest about the current reality.

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confusedapegenius t1_je53lba wrote

True, but the headline is also honest.

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Justtryme90 t1_jecb4la wrote

It's implying surpassing coal is significant, it's not really. We need to do more, we will, but still.

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confusedapegenius t1_jef9mre wrote

I’d say it’s significant, as a milestone. These things can have psychological importance that are independent of engineering. But I agree that’s no reason to stop accelerating the renewables transition.

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krisp9751 t1_je5odvb wrote

Which itself is a fairly new development. Natural gas passed coal in total electricity generation in USA just 8 years ago.

Renewable energy production is increasing rapidly. In 2022 over 80% of new installation for electricity generation was renewable source with nearly 50% of new installation being solar. This is a massive change from the 2010s.

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OriginalCompetitive t1_je59bnu wrote

Gas is a lot better than coal. Only half the CO2 and almost no other pollutants.

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beamdriver t1_je6a0ay wrote

Everything is better than coal. Coal is the dirtiest, most polluting way to generate energy that exists.

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Ancient_Persimmon t1_je6ahf6 wrote

That wasn't the case not long ago. Coal was as much as 50% of the total 15 years ago and it's now completely crashed.

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