TOTAL ECLIPSE

RENEWABLE ENERGY IS KICKING COAL TO THE CURBEC

- MAGGIE POTTER

It wasn’t all that long ago when a conversation surrounding the energy grid in the United States couldn’t fail to factor in coal as the base layer. Merely a decade ago, coal was still considered one of the foundations of the American energy system, providing up to a quarter of all electrical power. Though new tech was on the horizon, it was a long shot to assume that anything was going to change much.

Fast forward to present times, and you can see how wrong previous analyses were! Today, coal is widely considered a flailing industry, on its way to being replaced with alternative energy sources. These changes are happening at an unprecedented rate, far more quickly than even the most optimistic predictions, and not a moment too soon.

These rapid changes have left many with their heads spinning, confused about the benefits of the system that is set to replace coal. Fortunately, there are numerous positives lining the direction we are headed. Kicking coal to the curb certainly shouldn’t be considered a bad thing for us.

The Rise of Renewables

Though we hear a lot about the rise of renewable energy, it can be challenging to envision exactly what is meant when we say renewables. Basically, renewable energy is a form of power that we can rely on over and over again. The sun will always power solar panels, the wind will always power wind turbines, and water will always power our dams. Whereas non-renewables, such as coal, are gone forever once they’ve been used up.

In addition to being truly renewable, these types of energy sources have some other benefits including that they are: