LITTLETON, Colorado, May 29 (Reuters): The U.S. power system is on track to produce more electricity from clean power sources than from fossil fuels for the third straight month in May, establishing a record-long stretch for clean power generation in the country.
Clean power sources provided the majority of U.S. electricity supplies for the first time in March of this year, according to data from think tank Ember, and extended that run in April thanks to record renewable energy output.
The lowest natural gas-fired generation total in three years also helped ensure clean energy's majority share in April, and further declines in gas power output so far this month look set to keep that trend going in May. Greater demand for air conditioning systems over the summer may force utilities to elevate fossil fuel-based output from June onwards.
But the current three-month stretch of clean power dominance marks a new milestone in U.S. energy transition efforts, and highlights a growing adeptness within generation networks at maximising clean energy output while curtailing fossil fuel use.
After generating 50.5% of U.S. utility-supplied electricity in March, clean energy sources accounted for 50.8% of electricity in April, Ember data shows.
Big year-over-year increases in output from solar farms (+33%) and hydro dams (+24%) helped lift total clean electricity output by 8% in April from the same month a year ago.
Gas-fired electricity generation in April was 6% lower than in the same month in 2024, further helping to stack generation trends in favour of clean power.
So far in May, data from LSEG indicate that clean energy sources continue to have the upper hand.
From May 1 through May 27, LSEG data shows that solar power output is up by 19% from the same dates in 2024, to a record 883,000 megawatt hours (MWh).
That increase in solar output helped offset a 7% year-over-year decline in output from wind farms so far this month, and helped push total supplies from renewable energy sources to a new record.
On the fossil fuel side of the output ledger natural gas underwent a further year-over-year contraction, with gas-fired output at just under 4.3 million MWh for the May 1-27 window, and the smallest for that period in at least three years.
Coal-fired power output showed a modest 2% expansion so far in May from the same month a year ago, but overall fossil fuel power output is on track for a 9% fall from May 2024.
