Chart of the day

Chart of the Day: Solar overtakes coal in biggest coal state in US

Published by

Another landmark for renewables has been reached in the US, where the output of solar over a whole month has beaten that of coal in Texas – the state that burns more coal for electricity than any other in the country.

According to Ieefa, solar generation was 3.26 million megawatt hours (MWh), or 3.26 terawatt hours (TWh) in the month of March, beating the 2.96 TWh sent out by coal fired generators.

It’s the first time solar has beaten coal over a whole month in Texas, and that’s significant because Texas has long been the largest user of coal for power generation of any state in the US.

In 2023, according to Ieefa, the state burned 50.7 million tons of coal for electricity — twice as much as second-place Missouri’s 24.1 million tons — and 13% of the U. total.

But the share of coal generation in Texas is declining rapidly, from 40 per cent more than a decade ago and 30 per cent in 2017 to 13.9 per cent in 2023. The March result pushes it below 10 per cent for a month for the first time.

Solar, on the other hand, has broken above the 10 per cent mark for the first time (it was at 0.6 per cent in 2017), and the March number is 50 per cent more than the same month a year ago, and comes as total solar capacity in Texas reaches 22.7 gigawatts, with another 7.2 GW to be added this year and more than 20 GW more in development.

Just two days ago, solar achieved record instantaneous output of 18.6 GW, according to GridStatus, and was followed a day later by record output of wind and solar (37.6 GW) and a record level of penetration (74 per cent of load).

Giles Parkinson

Giles Parkinson is founder and editor of Renew Economy, and of its sister sites One Step Off The Grid and the EV-focused The Driven. He is the co-host of the weekly Energy Insiders Podcast. Giles has been a journalist for more than 40 years and is a former deputy editor of the Australian Financial Review. You can find him on LinkedIn and on Twitter.

Share
Published by

Recent Posts

Network to trial community batteries for grid resilience, reducing outages, and supporting EV charging

Network to trial eight community batteries to build its expertise and understanding of where they…

11 March 2025

Renew Economy launches green energy calendar, to keep readers up to date and in the loop

Renew Economy has launched a new green energy calendar for Australia, to help keep the…

11 March 2025

Wind giant’s proposal for up to 35 turbines near coal generator joins EPBC queue

Danish wind energy giant adds a new project to its Australian pipeline, an up to…

11 March 2025

In an electrifying world, it is time for state energy efficiency schemes to shine

Energy upgrade schemes could be adapted to provide a regulatory framework for a demand flexibility…

11 March 2025

Giant coal port inks deal with Japanese industrial giant to support green hydrogen mega-hub

Australian coal port signs an agreement with Japanese industrial giant to advance its green hydrogen…

11 March 2025

UK households near new grid pylons to get discounts on their electricity bills

UK residents living close to new electricity pylons will get money off their energy bills…

11 March 2025