In April 2024, electricity generation from wind power in the United States reached a new record high surpassing coal-fired generation. This milestone is detailed in EIA's July 2024 Monthly Energy Report. Not only did wind generation surpass coal generation in April, but it also surpassed coal generation in March. Although this achievement had first occurred in April 2023, it did not do so again until 11 months later. This is because wind power typically produces the most electricity in the spring in the United States.

U.S. Energy Information Administration, Monthly Energy Review

Wind vs. coal generation

In March 2024, US wind installations produced 45.9 gigawatt-hours (GWh) of electricity, compared to 38.4 GWh from coal-fired power plants. In April, coal-fired generation fell to 37.2 GWh, while wind generation increased to a record 47.7 GWh. However, despite these gains, coal-fired generation was still 15% higher than wind generation in the US during the first four months of 2024.

Twenty-year comparison

The electricity generation landscape has changed dramatically over the past two decades. In March 2004, coal-fired generation produced 154.3 GWh, while wind power generated just 1.3 GWh. Installed wind power capacity in the US has grown substantially from 2.4 gigawatts (GW) in 2000 to 150.1 GW in April 2024. Conversely, coal capacity has decreased from 315.1 GW in 2000 to 177.1 GW by April 2024.

Growth of other energy sources

Since 2000, solar power generation has increased by 99.1 GWh, and natural gas generation has risen by 287.6 GWh. These changes reflect a shift in the electricity generation mix, with a notable decline in coal-fired generation.

Future outlook

Following record wind capacity additions of over 14.0 GW in both 2020 and 2021, the pace of new wind installations has slowed in the past two years. The US is expected to add 7.1 GW of wind capacity in 2024. Meanwhile, after retiring 22.3 GW of coal-fired capacity in the last two years, operators plan to reduce the pace of coal plant retirements, with 2.8 GW scheduled for retirement in 2024.

This data underscores the growing role of wind power in the U.S. energy mix and highlights significant changes in electricity generation over the past twenty years.