According to data from the US Energy Information Administration (EIA), US energy consumption from renewable sources in 2019 exceeded coal use for the first time in more than 130 years. This reflects growth in renewable energy, mostly from wind and solar over the period, as well as the continued decrease in coal consumption to generate electricity. Compared to 2018, renewable energy demand increased 1%, while coal consumption fell almost 15%.
US coal consumption decreased to 11.3 quadrillion Btu (quads) in 2019, marking the sixth consecutive annual decline. Last year, electricity generation from coal fell to its lowest in 42 years. In this sector, coal has been increasingly replaced with natural gas, which has seen significant growth in recent years.
Meanwhile, Total renewable energy consumption in the US has been increasing in the last four years to reach 11.5 quads in 2019. Since 2015, wind and solar have contributed to mostly renewable energy sources in the US. Wind is the most-used renewable energy source to generate electricity in the US on an annual basis. Electricity generation from wind exceeded hydro for the first time in 2019.
