Power output by fossil fuels falls

Power generated by natural gas-fired plants saw the steepest declines on record last year as electricity produced by renewable energy sources such as wind and solar continued to rise.

Nationally, natural gas remains the top fuel for making electricity, a spot it has held for three years. In 2017, natural gas generated about 32 percent of the nation’s electricity, compared to 30 percent from coal. But the amount of electricity generated by natural gas fell by 7.7 percent last year, compared to 2016. The drop is partially due to decreased electricity demand in 2017.

Coal-fired power production continued to slump as coal plants shut down. Electricity generated by coal fell 2.5 percent, according to the U.S. Department of Energy.

Natural gas and coalfired generation both saw declines for the first time in a decade, according to the Energy Department. Coal plants accounted for half of the plant retirements nationally.

Meanwhile, wind and solar power hit record numbers for power generation. Wind accounted for 6.3 percent of the nation's energy mix, while solar accounted for 1.3 percent.

Texas reflects these trends. At the end of last year, the state’s grid manager, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, or ERCOT, reported that wind had surpassed coal in generation capacity. Even as three Texas coalfired plants were shut down, wind generation added 2,300 megawatts of capacity last year, pushing the the state’s wind generating capacity past 22,000 megawatts — by far the most in the nation, according to the American Wind Energy Association, a trade group.

Hydroelectricity also had a strong year in 2017, thanks to record-breaking precipitation in California. Hydro power generated 7.5 percent of the nation's electricity. But wind is expected to become the dominant renewable energy source in 2019.