For the first time, more electricity was generated from renewable sources in the US in a year than from coal, according to statistics website Statista (statista.com), citing data from the Energy Information Administration (EIA).

In 2022, renewables have created more than 900 terawatt hours of electricity in the country, compared to just over 800 generated by coal.

Globally, a similar shift is in the offing, with renewables projected to outpace coal by 2027.

By 2007, coal generated more than 2,000 terawatt hours of electricity in the US, making it the largest source of electricity generation, but that place has gradually been overtaken by natural gas plants, largely due to decarbonization policies. emissions and the shale revolution.

To meet its carbon neutrality goals, the US must continue to develop sources of electricity such as wind and solar power, whose share is steadily growing and is now the second largest source of electricity in the country.

Yet while natural gas accounted for almost exactly 40 percent of U.S. electricity generation in 2022, the share of renewable energy sources has only just surpassed 20 percent, comparable to the share of electricity generated by coal and nuclear power, and this shows that the road to clean energy is still long.

Looking not just at electricity, but at energy use in general, the road to net zero emissions looks even longer.

Here, renewable energy makes up just 12 percent, as non-electric energy sources — most notably oil in the form of automotive fuels — are added to the mix.