Renewable Energy in The United States

In the 1880s, humans began to discover the potential found in non-renewable energy sources like fossil fuels. Coal became the main source of electric energy in the United States by the 1960s, by which point subsequent pollution was commonplace in big US cities. Now in the twenty first century, renewable energy is more popular than ever, and will only continue to gain popularity. In an age of new Green Deals, Environmental Conservation projects and a heightened sense of awareness surrounding environmental protection, energy generated from wind, sunlight and water, among other things, has become the new normal. In fact, May of 2019 marked the first time in 130 years that America’s renewable energy consumption surpassed it’s coal consumption. Since 2010, renewable energy use in the United States has jumped from 10% to 20%, while coal use has simultaneously plummeted from 45% to 19%. In other words, 45% of the country’s energy came from coal in 2010, whereas that number is now only 19%. If these percentages stay the same, coal usage rates in the US will be cut in half again in another seven and a half years, while renewable energy will make up 30% of the nation’s electricity production in another ten years. Generally speaking however, renewable energy as whole is the most rapidly growing energy source in the US, growing by 100 percent from 2000 to 2018. In order to continue the growth of renewable energy, more facilities must be created to replace the old ones, which some people are skeptical about. Although switching to a 100% renewable power grid may sound daunting, it has already been done in several countries like Iceland, Paraguay, Costa Rica, Austria, Brazil and Denmark, all of whom get 70% or more of their energy from renewable sources. In order to halt climate change and begin saving the planet, switching to entirely renewable energy is the way to go and it’s about time for the United States to make that decision.