Wind and Solar Generated More Power Than Gas Globally in April (electrek.co)
- Reference: 0183363766
- News link: https://hardware.slashdot.org/story/26/05/24/0339201/wind-and-solar-generated-more-power-than-gas-globally-in-april
- Source link: https://electrek.co/2026/05/20/in-a-first-wind-solar-generated-more-power-than-gas-globally-april-2026/
> According to new analysis from independent energy think tank [2]Ember , wind and solar produced 22% of the world's electricity in April 2026, compared to 20% from gas. Together, the two renewable sources generated a record 531 terawatt-hours (TWh) of electricity during the month, 54 TWh more than gas plants generated globally, at 477 TWh...
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> Five years ago, in April 2021, gas generation was almost identical to today's level at 476 TWh. But back then, wind and solar combined generated just 245 TWh — less than half of what they produced this April...
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> Wind and solar generation increased across nearly every major market reporting April data... April tends to be the strongest month for this kind of milestone because spring weather in the Northern Hemisphere usually brings a combination of strong wind generation, rising solar output, and lower electricity demand between heating and cooling seasons. Still, the broader trend is clear. Ember's recent Global Electricity Review found that wind and solar met all global electricity demand growth in 2025.
"Governments around the world are also ramping up renewable energy targets to reduce dependence on volatile fossil fuel imports..."
[1] https://electrek.co/2026/05/20/in-a-first-wind-solar-generated-more-power-than-gas-globally-april-2026/
[2] https://ember-energy.org/
Possibly the only good thing... (Score:5, Insightful)
People realizing they need to reduce dependence on fossil fuels is probably the only good thing to come out of the Trump regime's Iran sh*t-show.
Re: (Score:2)
Considering how much the people 'learned' from the OPEC oil embargo in the 70's, when they had to sit in lines for hours to maybe get a ration of gas, that's not a safe bet. As soon as the prices come back down where it is not in the front of their minds every time the fill up the car, they will quickly forget again, just like they did before. As evidence of that forgettfulness, fuel is still cheaper than it was in 2022 under Biden for 6 months topping $5 a gallon on average at it's highest, that's only 4
Re:Possibly the only good thing... (Score:4, Insightful)
> People realizing they need to reduce dependence on fossil fuels is probably the only good thing to come out of the Trump regime's Iran sh*t-show.
Sorry but this has nothing to do with Iran. The trend for wind and solar has been moving this way steady for years before anyone knew where on the map the Strait of Hormuz was. Sure it's not negative, but at best it cements something that that people were already doing.
Re: (Score:1)
> People realizing they need to reduce dependence on fossil fuels is probably the only good thing to come out of the Trump regime's Iran sh*t-show.
There is something more important to learn. That we need to reduce fossil fuels prioritized by their pollution. Remove coal first, then oil, then natural gas, as the west generally does. It's something China desperately needs to learn.
Re: (Score:2)
(Bing/CoPilot)
"In 2024, the United States consumed approximately 4.086 trillion kilowatt-hours (kWh) of electricity, with projections to rise to 4.165 trillion kWh in 2025."
So... where ya gonna put all those solar panels and wind turbines?
Where do they come from? How much fossil fuels (NatGas, diesel, coal) are used to make the solar panels and wind turbines?
You need square footage for all this, that square footage (at the start) is available, then cuts into land that's used for crops and grazing, and soon
Re: (Score:1)
Locally, solar projects tend to be interfering with riding dirt bikes out in the desert, not agriculture.
Re: (Score:2)
That is a lot of solar panels. Using the sheer number of panels theoretically required as an excuse to not do solar is silly. I have half a megawatt of solar on my land. It's placed on a just a few of acres of marginal, otherwise-unused land. Grass grows great still underneath them. Gotta start somewhere.
Most buildings should have solar of some kind on their roofs. In some parts of the world, solar water heaters have been mandated on roofs for decades. Data centers should have their roofs entirely co
US numbers are good too (Score:2)
Here's the US solar growth numbers from the same report: [1]https://ember-energy.org/lates... [ember-energy.org]
[1] https://ember-energy.org/latest-insights/global-electricity-review-2026/major-countries-and-regions/#united-states
Re: (Score:2)
> Here's the US solar growth numbers from the same report: [1]https://ember-energy.org/lates... [ember-energy.org]
Not bad for what Trump has repeatedly called a "scam".
[2]Ending the Green New Scam [whitehouse.gov]
Google: [3]trump renewables scam [google.com]
[1] https://ember-energy.org/latest-insights/global-electricity-review-2026/major-countries-and-regions/#united-states
[2] https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Ending-the-Green-New-Scam-Fact-Sheet.pdf
[3] https://www.google.com/search?q=trump+renewables+scam
Re:This must piss off (Score:5, Funny)
I really wish Scotland would seize his golf course and rename it the Trump/Epstein nature preserve.
Re: (Score:3)
Why keep the name? It would be more spiteful to name it the Barack Obama and Hilary Clinton Golf Course.
Re: (Score:2)
Not just that but also convert the golf course to a solar or wind park.
Re: (Score:1)
Bonus point, you could put 20 or 30 mini golf curses under the solar cells!
Re: (Score:3)
>> I really wish Scotland would seize his golf course and rename it the Trump/Epstein nature preserve.
> Better yet, lease the offshore rights for a very large wind farm.
[1]Already built. [wikipedia.org] Maybe not a very large wind farm, but 11 turbines is not too small.
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trump_International_Golf_Club_Scotland_Ltd_v_The_Scottish_Ministers
Re:This must piss off (Score:4, Interesting)
Fun fact, to get to net zero the UK needs to dedicate a bit less than all the land currently used for golf courses to solar.
Just sayin'.
Re: (Score:2)
> According to new analysis from independent energy think tank Ember, wind and solar produced 22% of the world's electricity in April 2026, compared to 20% from gas.
But are we certain that gas wasn't overtaken by renewables because of the lack of availability of gas from the farts of the obese? After all, a lot of people stopped going to the buffet for 3 hours because they're now using Ozempic. That's not putting America First.
Gas? (Score:2)
This is American, right? So this means petroleum gasoline?
Re: (Score:2)
No, it means natural gas, which is mostly methane.
Gasoline, and petroleum in general, is way too expensive to use to generate electricity except in special circumstances where your options are limited.
Re: (Score:2)
Unfortunately never. The handful of billionaires running the show know you can' just stop buying gasoline or groceries. To quote George Carlin: It's a big club and you aint in it
Re: (Score:1)
> Unfortunately never. The handful of billionaires running the show know you can' just stop buying gasoline or groceries.
Nope. The billionaires will shift to solar and wind as soon as more money can be made from them. Big Oil became Big Energy in the 1970s and has been preparing for Peak Oil for decades. Peak Oil just keeps getting postponed as new reserves are discovered and keeps petroleum more profitable.
The billionaires don't give a shit about the fossil fuels vs renewables, they follow the profits.
Cue all the Big Oil trolls... (Score:2)
...to tell us why this is a bad thing. :-/
The only thing stopping us (Score:4, Interesting)
From an immediate switch is billionaires want to be in control of the energy supply so they are slowing the transition in order to make sure that they control the solar farms and the wind farms and you have to go to them to get electricity still just like you did when they controlled the coal mines and the oil wells. This is acceptable because the alternative is to make energy production publicly owned and people really really really really hate public utilities and the concept of just having something that we all benefit from. It doesn't feel Fair because they can't own it.
Also it's hard to explain to people that just because you won't let Elon Musk own the electric grid doesn't mean somebody is going to snatch your car and your toothbrush... It's really hard to get people to grasp any level of nuance. It doesn't help that 60% of them read at the level of a 12-year-old...
Re:"Governments around the world".... (Score:4, Insightful)
Being aligned with a cult leader pays off.
Re:"Governments around the world".... (Score:5, Informative)
Political leadership (or lack thereof) is not the only thing incentivizing wind and solar. Low operational costs also play a huge factor.
Ember (the quoted source) reports the US at [1]19% [ember-energy.org]. Effectively, the US is about 3 years behind the average given that wind and solar has been growing in the US at about [2]1% a year for the past dozen years or so [eia.gov]. Although below average, the US is by no means out of the game.
[1] https://ember-energy.org/countries-and-regions/united-states-of-america/
[2] https://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.php?id=67367
Re: (Score:1)
> Although below average, the US is by no means out of the game.
Although behind the EU, the US was never out of the game.
"In 2023, China was the biggest carbon polluter in the world by far, having released 11.9 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide (GtCO). Although the U.S. was the second-biggest emitter, with 4.9 GtCO in 2023, its CO emissions have declined by 13 percent since 2010. By comparison, China’s CO emissions have increased by more than 38 percent in the same period. ""
[1]https://www.statista.com/stati... [statista.com]
[1] https://www.statista.com/statistics/270499/co2-emissions-in-selected-countries/