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OSCAR WILDE
EIA’s Electric Power Monthly – April 2020 Edition with data for February 2020
PEAK OIL BARREL
The EIA released the latest edition of their Electric Power Monthly on April 24th, with data for February 2020. The table above shows the percentage contribution of the main fuel sources to two decimal places for the last two months and the year 2020 to date.
The Table immediately above shows the absolute amounts of electricity generated in gigawatt-hours by the main sources for the last two months and the year to date. In February, the absolute amount of electricity generated decreased slightly as is often the case between January and February. Coal and Natural Gas between them fueled 57.45% of US electricity generation in February. The contribution of zero-carbon and carbon-neutral sources increased from 40.57% in January to 41.55% in February. The percentage contribution from Natural Gas in January remained below 40% at 39.76%, edging up from 39.19% in January.
coal generating less than nuclear for the third month in a row
It may have escaped observation before but, Coal has now generated less electricity than Nuclear for the third month in a row. Coal has only ever generated less electricity over the course of a month for four months, these previous three and April of 2019. In light of the situation with the current COVID-19 lockdowns and ongoing coal plant closures, it remains to be seen whether coal, for the foreseeable future, will ever generate more electricity than nuclear over the course of a month.
