Renewable energy is shattering records. Will it continue?

By Benjamin Storrow | 04/05/2024 06:15 AM EDT

The U.S. has never had as much wind, solar and hydropower. But experts say it’s not enough to meet future electricity demand.

People work on a wind turbine.

Workers use equipment on a wind turbine in Pueblo, Colorado, last year. Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images

Renewable energy is breaking records across the U.S.

Wind and solar accounted for 76 percent of electricity production in Texas’ primary power grid last Friday. The next day, New England set its own record, with 45 percent of its power coming from wind, solar and hydropower.

Within the last month, grid operators have reported record solar generation in the Midwest, record wind generation in New York and record renewable generation in the mid-Atlantic, according to data collected by GridStatus.io, a website that monitors electricity markets around the country.

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The milestones represent a snapshot in time, a mere hour of a day when renewable generation surges on one of the country’s regional electric grids, all of which remain firmly dependent on fossil fuels.

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