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posted by Fnord666 on Sunday May 31 2020, @02:42PM   Printer-friendly
from the the-king-is-dead dept.

135-year-long streak is over: US renewable sources topped coal in 2019

Two weeks ago, we covered a US Energy Information Administration (EIA) projection that renewable wind, solar, and hydroelectric power would top coal for total electricity generation in 2020. That was particularly believable given that renewables had beat coal in daily generation every day going back to March 24. As it happens, that daily streak finally came to an end this week, as coal picked up amid rising demand and a couple low days for wind. Coal likely topped renewables on Tuesday, although it's possible that rooftop solar generation (not included in EIA's daily data) extended the run until Wednesday.

But the EIA also released some numbers Thursday that highlight a related and interesting piece of trivia: if you include energy use beyond the electric sector and all types of renewable energy, renewables actually beat out coal last year. And to find the last time that was true, you have to go all the way back to the 1880s.


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  • (Score: 2) by PartTimeZombie on Tuesday June 02 2020, @07:06AM (9 children)

    by PartTimeZombie (4827) on Tuesday June 02 2020, @07:06AM (#1002071)

    I can't understand why the IMF don't ask you to do their studies for them, you're obviously way ahead of them.

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  • (Score: 1) by khallow on Tuesday June 02 2020, @08:11AM (8 children)

    by khallow (3766) Subscriber Badge on Tuesday June 02 2020, @08:11AM (#1002093) Journal

    I can't understand why the IMF don't ask you to do their studies for them, you're obviously way ahead of them.

    No kidding. That study was pretty shitty. It doesn't take much drilling into the details before the wheels come off.

    But much of that information just isn't there. I've only seen one study (of Europe) that even tried to compare real world subsidies of energy generation on an equal footing. (Needless to say, renewable energy didn't fare well on a per unit energy comparison.) The rest are just selling a talking point like this one. They just aren't interested.

    • (Score: 2) by PartTimeZombie on Tuesday June 02 2020, @09:40PM (7 children)

      by PartTimeZombie (4827) on Tuesday June 02 2020, @09:40PM (#1002389)

      Wow. Have you been diagnosed?

      • (Score: 1) by khallow on Tuesday June 02 2020, @10:57PM (6 children)

        by khallow (3766) Subscriber Badge on Tuesday June 02 2020, @10:57PM (#1002479) Journal
        What imaginary illness am I supposedly suffering from, oh sarcastic one?
        • (Score: 2) by PartTimeZombie on Tuesday June 02 2020, @11:21PM (5 children)

          by PartTimeZombie (4827) on Tuesday June 02 2020, @11:21PM (#1002484)

          I wasn't being sarcastic, and I'm not a psychologist, so I don't know what's wrong with you, but you have an incrediblly inflated sense of your own abilities, and I'm sure that affects your life adversely.

          It does not however affect mine.

          • (Score: 1) by khallow on Tuesday June 02 2020, @11:53PM (4 children)

            by khallow (3766) Subscriber Badge on Tuesday June 02 2020, @11:53PM (#1002501) Journal

            but you have an incrediblly inflated sense of your own abilities

            Not to denigrate my abilities, but what abilities do I really need to write opinion papers for the IMF?

            • (Score: 2) by PartTimeZombie on Wednesday June 03 2020, @12:25AM (3 children)

              by PartTimeZombie (4827) on Wednesday June 03 2020, @12:25AM (#1002514)

              Oh, and absolutely no self-awareness. It's weird and creepy.

              • (Score: 1) by khallow on Wednesday June 03 2020, @06:41AM (2 children)

                by khallow (3766) Subscriber Badge on Wednesday June 03 2020, @06:41AM (#1002633) Journal
                This sounds like a blame the messenger situation. I've written academic papers in passable English and I know how to find and process basic statistics. That's pretty much the main abilities required for this particular thing. The problem isn't my abilities, it's the considerable time and labor that would have to go into creating a better study.

                Psychoanalyzing my level of alleged self-awareness isn't going to help.
                • (Score: 1, Flamebait) by PartTimeZombie on Wednesday June 03 2020, @08:13AM (1 child)

                  by PartTimeZombie (4827) on Wednesday June 03 2020, @08:13AM (#1002650)

                  I've written academic papers in passable English...

                  No you haven't. That's hilarious.

                  • (Score: 1) by khallow on Wednesday June 03 2020, @02:09PM

                    by khallow (3766) Subscriber Badge on Wednesday June 03 2020, @02:09PM (#1002721) Journal

                    No you haven't.

                    If you're just going to tell me what I have or haven't done without regard for reality, then at least make the story amusing.