Renewables Overtake Coal As World's Biggest Source of Electricity (bbc.com)
- Reference: 0179708156
- News link: https://hardware.slashdot.org/story/25/10/08/0339254/renewables-overtake-coal-as-worlds-biggest-source-of-electricity
- Source link: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cx2rz08en2po
> Renewable energy [2]overtook coal as the world's leading source of electricity in the first half of this year -- a historic first, according to [3]new data from the global energy think tank Ember. Electricity demand is growing around the world but the growth in solar and wind was so strong it met 100% of the extra electricity demand, even helping drive a slight decline in coal and gas use. However, Ember says the headlines mask a mixed global picture.
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> Developing countries, especially China, led the clean energy charge but richer nations including the US and EU relied more than before on planet-warming fossil fuels for electricity generation. This divide is likely to get more pronounced, according to a separate report from the International Energy Agency (IEA). It predicts renewables will grow much less strongly than forecast in the US as a result of the policies of President Donald Trump's administration. Coal, a major contributor to global warming, was still the world's largest individual source of energy generation in 2024, a position it has held for more than 50 years, according to the IEA.
[1] https://slashdot.org/~AmiMoJo
[2] https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cx2rz08en2po
[3] https://ember-energy.org/latest-updates/solar-and-wind-met-all-electricity-demand-growth-in-h1-2025/
Coal maybe, not gas (Score:2)
As I write this here in the UK sitting under a cloudy high pressure system with not much (inland) wind , 47% of our electricity is being generated by gas, 21% wind and 13% solar. Good, but not great , and there are always planning battles over siting of new wind and solar farms. Wind can be put in the sea (making it more vulnerable to russian sabotage but thats another discussion) but solar can't so we're probably not far off the install limit of the latter unless the government starts compulsory purchasing
Re:Coal maybe, not gas (Score:4, Informative)
Individual days are less important than the whole year. If renewables out produce coal to be the worlds biggest source of electricity generation, then by definition is larger also than natural gas.
Re: (Score:2)
> Wind can be put in the sea [...] but solar can't
It seems it [1]can [oceansofenergy.blue] (although whether it's economical to do it at scale is another question).
[1] https://oceansofenergy.blue/north-sea-1/
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The problem with solar is not the land - they keep finding dual use projects where they add solar to something else (canals, farms, parking lots.
Instead the problem is that solar gives out at the same time. Once you have about 25% solar, you usually do not want more. You are going to need at least 30% of your power to work at night during very hot summers. Similar problem with winter. Once you build the power supply for the night, it's going to stop working during the day, so you really only need another
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One thing you are really good at is building strawmen. Sadly, you have not clue about power engineering and mindlessly replicate propaganda lies.
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I was specific about the things I knew and pretty non-specific about the less certain things. For example, I used words like might. Those are key things that propaganda never does.
I did not mention anything about the reliable power supplies being fossil fuels or nuclear. I allowed for it to be hydro, tidal, geothermal, or anything else.
I am not an expert on power engineering, but I did carefully avoid propaganda.
You did not specify anything I said as wrong, you just emotionally loaded words to insult.
Re: (Score:1)
Sure, many renewable energy sources are intermittent and that requires some kind of solution.
A balanced mix of energy sources is appropriate, but it doesn't have to mean emitting carbon dioxide.
That balance will vary from area to area.
Norway is 99% renewable.
Denmark is 80% renewable and got 59.3% from wind power in 2024.
Also, electricity is exported and imported between countries due to variations in need and availability.
Denmark is a transit country between itself, Norway, Sweden, the Netherlands an
Re: (Score:3)
Have a look at this wind speed map: [1]https://zoom.earth/maps/wind-s... [zoom.earth]
There is still a massive amount of on- and off-shore wind that we could harvest to replace that gas, much of it in the shallow waters of the North Sea.
Last year, renewables were 35% of the UK's electricity production. We can easily and cheaply go much higher, which would help reduce bills as it displaces gas.
[1] https://zoom.earth/maps/wind-speed/
Re: (Score:1)
The article talks about an elephant in the room here, which is that Europe and the UK are lagging because they just don't get enough sun to make solar work really well, and wind has not experienced anything like the 99.9% price reduction solar has since the 1970's. And the US is running in the other direction because politics.
> In contrast, developed nations like the US, and also the EU, saw the opposite trend.
> In the US, electricity demand grew faster than clean energy output, increasing reliance on fossil
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You need to stop believing Fox news ...
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I quoted the linked BBC article. Shall I quote it again for you? " in the EU, months of weak wind and hydropower performance led to a rise in coal and gas generation."
Re: Coal maybe, not gas (Score:2)
Increase in coal generation? We have no coal power stations anymore
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The UK doesn't (good on you folks, I didn't know that until now) but the EU most definitely does.
Given that the UK buys electricity from the European grid that does sort of mean there's coal in the UKs energy mix as well though.
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Wait, according to Fox News, Germany gets [1]lots of sunshine [youtube.com]!
[1] https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=fox+news+germany+lots+of+sunshine
Re: (Score:3)
We brits aren't great at rooftop solar - we're getting better, but there's a long, long way to go. The square kilometres of untapped space are many, and if we get to using it, then the demand for grid electricity changes dramatically. Sure, cloudy days aren't as good as sunny ones, but I'll bet a lot of houses are just consuming "power vampires" right now, all of which could be powered by some solar, even on a cloudy day.
Say nothing about our pretty terrible record on insulating our houses - if we do that,
In related news... (Score:2)
Earlier this week, the coal-boosting Trump Administration recently held an auction for coal mining leases on federal lands in Montana. There was [1]only one bid [apnews.com] - for a whopping $186,000, which equates to about $0.001 - one tenth of a penny - per ton. That seems to be a pretty clear indication of coal's prospects. But, sure, go on and on about "Beautiful Clean Coal" all you want.
Curious note: the bid came from the Navajo Transition Energy Co.
[1] https://apnews.com/article/trump-coal-sales-public-lands-montana-b2dbbdc81e7afbf24947b9a4b32fa417
One more question to commenters (Score:2)
So, for those of you into coal, why? There are NO jobs in it.
FACT: in 1972, there were 778,000 coal miners. As of four or so years ago, there were 78,000 miners. Yes, a 90% reduction. Few deep mines, now it's mountaintop removal and HUGE machinery. And the remaining coal companies, in the ongoing war on coal MINERS, keep adding more automation.
...but Trump Says (Score:4, Insightful)
Renewables do not work
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Yes, nobody wants to see coal. But, my country grandma in PA got a 15% reduction in her property taxes by switching her oil furnace to a coal furnace.
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Who the hell is manufacturing and selling coal furnaces in 2025?
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Somebody is. I'm not making that up.
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And just to show you I'm not "blowing smoke" (pun indended) --
[1]https://legacystoves.com/produ... [legacystoves.com]
[1] https://legacystoves.com/product-category/coal-furnaces/
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Ha, it's even called "legacy stoves."
Me, I cut down the coal bill a little by switching all my lightbulbs to 200w incandescents.
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You should see granny. She could have been on Titanic - you have to go down and shovel the coal in every 8 hours.
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That is insane on an advanced level ...
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One thing that ChatGPT does well is fact-checking.
> Could someone living in Pennsylvania theoretically reduce property taxes by 15% by "upgrading" an oil furnace to a coal one?
> That’s a really interesting and creative idea — but no, someone living in Pennsylvania could not reduce their property taxes by 15% by switching from oil to coal heating.
It then delves into minutae of Pennsylvanian [1]tax [pa.gov] [2]law [pa.gov], a furnace's impact on assessed property value, and how not even coal refuse (as opposed to ordin
[1] https://www.puc.pa.gov/general/consumer_ed/pdf/AEPS_Fact_Sheet.pdf
[2] https://www.pa.gov/agencies/pda/plants-land-water/farmland-preservation/clean-and-green.html
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Well, Trump dos not work, so takes one to know one?