"Wind and solar are steadily growing, while coal-fired power use is plummeting because of the coronavirus, accelerating a long-term decline."

"A milestone in the clean energy transition may arrive earlier than expected, with renewables overtaking coal as a leading source of electricity by the end of this year, according to a forecast by the Energy Information Administration released on Tuesday.

Renewables have been steadily gaining on coal, a trend that has accelerated with the economic disruption of coronavirus.

There was little doubt that renewables would pass coal in the near future, but analysts had projected that it would take longer. This fast-forwarding of the timeline means that renewables will trail only natural gas and nuclear, showing that years of wind and solar power development have become major parts of the energy mix."

Dan Gearino reports for InsideClimate News May 13, 2020. [2]