mellowtigger | a little good news: renewable energy (Reply)

How about a palate cleanser from the day's big news? I've got 2 related items that are actually very good news, rather than just a little bit good.

Fossil fuels dropped to only 49.2% of USA electricity production.

Fossil fuels just hit a record low in the US electricity mix last month, while solar and wind soared to all-time highs, according to fresh data from global energy think tank Ember. In March 2025, fossil fuels accounted for less than 50% – 49.2% – of electricity generated for the first month on record. This beats the previous monthly record low of 51% set in April 2024.

- https://electrek.co/2025/04/04/first-month-on-record-fossil-fuels-drop-below-50-of-us-power-mix/
Fossil fuels dropped to only about 60% of electricity supplied worldwide.

Renewables and nuclear provided 40.9% of the world’s power generation in 2024, passing the 40% mark for the first time since the 1940s, according to a new global energy think tank Ember report. Renewables added a record 858 TWh in 2024, 49% more than the previous high in 2022. Solar was the largest contributor for the third year running, adding 474 TWh to reach a share of 6.9%. Solar was the fastest-growing power source (+29%) for the 20th year in a row.

- https://electrek.co/2025/04/07/world-surges-past-40-percent-clean-power-in-record-renewable-boom/

Sure, I quibble with the inclusion of nuclear fission in the non-fossil-fuel category. New fissile material will not be created by nature in any meaningful time frame, therefore it is another non-renewable resource of limited quantity on Earth.

Still, though, eliminating carbon output into the atmosphere remains my top political concern, so both of these items are truly great news.