For the first time in a century, renewables generated more electricity than coal last year.
I've said it once and I'll say it again: the future is green! Increasingly, the present is catching up to it. The transition only accelerates from here.
https://www.vox.com/the-highlight/486845/climate-change-coal-solar-renewable-power
Increasing renewable generation is important, but coal is still necessary for grid reliability (Winter Storm Fern is a great example).
Rising Star
Hmm, we were discussing coal specifically, not thermal generation as a whole. Per the 2025 report, PV + Storage is most certainly price competitive with the marginal operating cost of coal at this point, and, while the price of batteries continues to drop, coal isn't getting any cheaper without becoming utterly uneconomical to produce. You can quibble with Lazard's if you like, but their methodology is transparent and well documented.
I'll also note that global investment in clean energy outpaced fossil fuel investment by a 2:1 ratio in 2025, so there are certainly some investors that see the value prop.
Also cheaper
If the future is green, the future is also short.
You mean in the US? Because that is not true globally. But even in the US - hard to extrapolate something hitting 13% as on a roll to take over our energy needs.
Petroleum (oil + liquids): 35–37%
Natural gas: 32–34%
Coal: 9–10%
Nuclear: 8–9%
Renewables (modern: hydro, wind, solar, bioenergy, geothermal): 12–13%
Rising Star
As I said, meeting growth in demand is a tipping point. From here, its exponential growth goes from satisfying new demand to displacing fossil fuel generation, driving down the cost of electricity in the process and further incentivising electrification of processes from transportation to steel and cement production. The ongoing oil crisis only further accelerates demand destruction for fossil fuels.
Nuclear takes a decade to build and no one wants it in their backyard. It has only a marginal role in meeting new demand growth, and that will continue to be the case since the equivalent amount of solar and storage can be built in a year or less for a tenth of the price.