Coal plants produced 19.98 percent of the grid’s generation in 2020, for the entire continental U.S. So coal generation came in under one-fifth for the first time. Though ever so slightly (by two-hundredths of a percent).

While zero-emission nuclear, hydro, wind and solar produced 38.53 percent. That’s nearly two-fifths. And nearly twice coal’s percentage.

All this happened because coal generation dropped almost nineteen percent from 2019 to 2020. As a result, carbon dioxide emissions dropped by around ten percent.

Our January 2021 issue is now available to read online. Please see the table of contents here.