In a shift from earlier forecasts, the U.S. Energy Information Administration is forecasting that renewables, not natural gas, will be the dominant source of electricity on the U.S. power grid by 2050, The Houston Chronicle reports.
Over the next three decades, wind, solar and hydroelectric power are expected to double in their share of U.S. power generation to 38%. At the same time, natural gas falls from 39% last year to 36%, coal from 24% to 13% and nuclear from 19% to 12%.
The report marks a contrast with last year’s outlook, in which the EIA predicted natural gas would remain the dominant source through 2050, according to Greentech Media.
“We see renewables as the fastest-growing source of electricity generation through 2050 as cost declines make them economically competitive beyond the expiration of existing federal and state policy supports,” EIA Administrator Linda Capuano says in a statement.
Overall, U.S. energy demand is expected to increase, primarily in the transportation and industrial sector, driving up emissions. Read the full story.
