Last week, the Trump administration announced that it was pumping $700 million of federal funding into the US coal industry, a short-sighted investment in a highly polluting source of energy that’s been in decline for decades.
It’s never been more obvious that there are far better alternatives. Case in point, according to global energy think tank Ember, solar power generation overtook coal for the first time in US history last month: in May, solar made up 12.8 percent of all electricity generation, compared to 12.2 percent of coal.
“This record could be broken again in the coming summer months,” Ember noted.
The use of coal for power generation has plummeted, almost halving over the last five years alone. Meanwhile, the amount of solar power being generated has more than doubled over the same period.
“Overtaking coal for the first month on record shows just how far solar has come, from a niche contributor to the third-largest and fastest-growing source of power in the US electricity system,” said Ember senior data analyst Nicolas Fulghum in a statement.
The Trump administration’s renewed focus on reviving coal, however, could risk the US falling further behind when it comes to renewable energy. The Energy Department has announced that it’s reversing plans to shut down five aging coal plants, while funding companies building new coal plants in Alaska and West Virginia.
Worst of all, funding for these questionable initiatives was originally set by Congress to reduce carbon dioxide emissions.
Coal is the most carbon-intensive fossil fuel there is to burn and releases plenty of toxic pollution. Strip mining it in the US can be particularly destructive to the environment, uprooting entire ecosystems.
Meanwhile, the popularity of solar generation has soared thanks to major efficiency gains and breakthroughs in manufacturing. China, in particular, has made massive strides, now representing 80 percent of global solar panel production.
In short, supporting solar generation makes a ton of sense right now — making the Trump administration’s efforts to prop up so-called “beautiful, clean coal” all the more baffling.
More on solar: The Amount of New Solar Power Production Capacity China Is Manufacturing Is Legitimately Mind-Blowing
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