U.S. solar will pass wind in 2025 and leave coal in the dust soon after

Submitted ⁨⁨9⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago⁩ by ⁨spaghettiwestern@sh.itjust.works⁩ to ⁨technology@lemmy.world⁩

https://pv-magazine-usa.com/2025/10/01/u-s-solar-will-pass-wind-in-2025-and-leave-coal-in-the-dust-soon-after/

Based on current deployment rates, it is likely that solar will surpass wind as the third-largest source of electricity. And solar may soon topple coal in the number two spot.

Looking ahead, through July 2028, FERC expects no new coal capacity to come online based on its “high probability additions” forecast. Meanwhile 63 coal plants are expected to be retired, subtracting 25 GW from the 198 GW total, and landing at about 173 GW of coal capacity by 2028. Meanwhile, FERC forecasts 92.6 GW of “high probability additions” solar will come online through July 2028.

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SatansMaggotyCumFart@piefed.world ⁨8⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
I've already passed wind in 2025.

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- Vandals_handle@lemmy.world ⁨8⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
  Would that be considered breaking news?
  
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  - Godnroc@lemmy.world ⁨8⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
    No, but it is breaking wind.
    
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- SocialMediaRefugee@lemmy.world ⁨6⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
  Are you a renewable resource?
  
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- Hux@lemmy.ml ⁨8⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
  Username checks out.
  
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- kmartburrito@lemmy.world ⁨8⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
  Mmmmmmmmmm beefy!
  
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  - SatansMaggotyCumFart@piefed.world ⁨3⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
    Did you call me fat?
    
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DFX4509B_2@lemmy.org ⁨3⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
Assuming Dear Leader Trump don’t stamp it out, of course.

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- COASTER1921@lemmy.ml ⁨2⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
  I also always call him Dear Leader. We can’t normalize these behaviors from a president, and using the “Dear Leader” title makes it unambiguously clear that his selfish actions are not presidential.
  
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aBundleOfFerrets@sh.itjust.works ⁨8⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
Even with an admin as renewable-hostile as the current one, you just can’t beat cheap, I guess.

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- UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world ⁨7⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
  That’s been the joke of Solar for a while. Engineers could have told you all the way back in the 1970s (really, the 1910s) that it costs less money to leave a big plate out in the bright sun than to drill a giant hole and hope there’s enough spicy rocks at the bottom of it to justify the expense.
  
  We should have crested this hill a lot sooner, but the heavy emphasis on subsidized fossil fuels during the 80s, 90s, and 00s kept these fuels artificially cheap. Meanwhile, fossil fuel firms actually did invest in Green Energy R&D but only for the purpose of erecting “patent thickets” that would hinder competitive growth of these alternatives.
  
  This has lead to big surges in the development and deployment of Green Energy grids outside of the countries doing most of the cutting edge research. Americans are only now catching up.
  
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  - whereyaaat@lemmings.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨hour⁩ ago
    This is why I have no problem [CENSORED] members of the ruling class.
    
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  - shalafi@lemmy.world ⁨4⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
    You’re really discounting that fossil fuels have hella bang for the buck, loads of power per gallon. tl;dr: Energy dense
    
    I can run my little generator at camp all night long if there’s as little as 3 gallons in there. Space heater or AC unit, lights, all that. I’d have to have many panels and batteries to compare to that output. My best battery is a huge LIPO4, trolling motor can’t kill it, not even close. But leaving the LED lights on for a little over a day drained it dry.
    
    We need way more solar infrastructure to get where we’re going, and I’m all about it. But since since the GOP has decided to go back in time, China is going to smoke America, both in renewables and the associated economic benefits.
    
    Did not know about the patent thing! Know any examples?
    
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frezik@lemmy.blahaj.zone ⁨6⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
That’s actually a problem.

All realistic plans for 100% renewable (or even 95% renewable, which is substantially easier) rely on a multipronged approach of wind, water, solar, and grid upgrades. Each one has upsides and downsides, but you can use the upsides of one to cover the downsides of another. Combined, you get a reliable grid based on intermittent but cheap sources.

Capitalism sees this plan and decides to deploy the one with the best immediate ROI. Which happens to be solar. Problem is that you can’t just rely on solar. The grid is hitting limits where electrical production is sending prices to basically zero at certain times, but not able to provide enough the rest of the time. That will shift the economic incentives. Eventually.

It’ll figure out what researchers have already written down, but it’ll take too long to get there.

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- whereyaaat@lemmings.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨hour⁩ ago
  It’s not really a ‘problem.’
  
  If push came to shove, we could just wait before putting the panels online.
  
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- Fairgreen@lemmy.world ⁨3⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
  Batteries
  
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- spaghettiwestern@sh.itjust.works ⁨4⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
  SoCal has a huge amount of wind and solar right now. Utility sized battery installations are going in to deal with the electricity production gaps.
  
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  - IphtashuFitz@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
    Even home battery solutions. We have solar panels & a Powerwall. Were part of a Virtual Power Plant along with around 1500 other Powerwall owners in the region. During peak usage in the summer all our PowerWalls feed back to the grid so that our utility provider doesn’t have to spin up expensive (and dirty) peaker plants. We get paid a premium for the power we provide during these events.
    
    I saw articles here on Lenny just a month or two ago that Tesla successfully tested a VPP in California that consisted of 100,000 PowerWalls.
    
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- AceBonobo@lemmy.world ⁨5⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
  Is it? Wind is 10% and solar is 4%
  
  www.eia.gov/…/electricity-in-the-us.php
  
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  - frezik@lemmy.blahaj.zone ⁨5⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
    Yes, and we’re already seeing prices go negative with that mix. This shouldn’t happen (at least not very often) if it’s built properly.
    
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spaghettiwestern@sh.itjust.works ⁨8⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
Gotta love that headline.

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- AmidFuror@fedia.io ⁨8⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
  Would have been better as "blow past wind" to match the sentiment of the "coal in the dust" joke.
  
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- oong3Eepa1ae1tahJozoosuu@lemmy.world ⁨8⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
  Had to read it twice to understand what they WANTED to say
  
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Sunschein@piefed.social ⁨7⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
Another example of Big Media always twisting the narrative! They didn’t “pass wind,” they FARTED! Stop diverting the blame!

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- whereyaaat@lemmings.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨hour⁩ ago
  Well, considering how it’s breaking wind and passing gas, they didn’t really have a collision here.
  
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- PattyMcB@lemmy.world ⁨4⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
  I lol’d
  
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tomkatt@lemmy.world ⁨8⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
Phrasing.

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SocialMediaRefugee@lemmy.world ⁨6⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
Well despite Trump coal has been being phased out for decades. I’d look at how it does vs natural gas.

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VeryVito@lemmy.ml ⁨8⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
Heh heh. Heh heh.

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Freddyyeddy@lemmy.world ⁨3⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
Aren’t wind turbines mostly diesel generators in disguise?

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- Armok_the_bunny@lemmy.world ⁨3⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
  What?
  
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  - Freddyyeddy@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨hour⁩ ago
    Wind turbines have to be constantly spinning due to inertia to get them started due to that they have big diesel engines that keep them going the minimum speed. I’m not trying to be inflammatory and am welcome to a fact check.
    
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- ripcord@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
  No?
  
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