U.S. energy consumption of power generated from renewables could outpace consumption from coal in 2020, according to data released last month from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA).
Renewable energy’s growing share comes as U.S. coal carloads dropped by nearly a quarter last year, according to data from the Association of American Railroads (AAR).
U.S. energy consumption of power coming from renewable sources was 8.73 quadrillion Btu for the first nine months of 2020, according to EIA’s monthly energy report released on Dec. 23. Renewable energy sources include hydroelectric power, geothermal, solar, wind and biomass.
In contrast, U.S. energy consumption of power coming from coal was 6.85 quadrillion Btu for the same time frame.
Indeed, U.S. energy consumption coming from renewable sources already outpaced coal in 2019, although the difference was minimal and close to flat. U.S. energy consumption from renewables was 11.332 quadrillion Btus in 2019, compared with 11.326 quadrillion Btus from coal.
“In 2019, U.S. annual energy consumption from renewable sources exceeded coal consumption for the first time since before 1885,”EIA said in a Dec. 31“Today in Energy”note.
EIA continued,“This outcome mainly reflects the continued decline in the amount of coal used for electricity generation over the past decade as well as growth in renewable energy, mostly from wind and solar. Compared with 2018, coal consumption in the United States decreased nearly 15%, and total renewable energy consumption grew by 1%.”
As U.S. energy consumption of power generated from coal declines, so have U.S. coal carload volumes. For the week ending Saturday, U.S. coal carloads year-to-date since Jan. 1, 2020—practically 2020 volume—was 24.6% lower compared with the same period in 2019, at 3.07 million carloads, according to AAR.
Meanwhile, U.S. carloads were 12.9% lower at 11.48 million carloads. Only grain showed a year-over-year percentage gain: It was up by 4.9% to 1.19 million carloads.
