A minor milestone on the renewable energy front – renewable energy sources have taken over market share from coal for the first time:
This Ars Technica article has the full story. I see no reason why this trend won’t continue, as solar prices have been dropping and even battery technology is getting better.
This chart from the US Energy Information Administration also shows an interesting chart – total US energy usage, while up in 2018, has been relatively flat since the mid 2000’s:
Given the rising market share, and the aging of the US population, it seems that petroleum share will have to start shrinking. The primary reason its share has been rising is the dramatic fall in oil prices since 2010. The price of crude oil is now roughly just over half of what it was in between 2010 and 2014. One would think that with the advances in Solar and Wind power lowering the costs of electricity, petroleum prices will have to continue to fall in order to maintain market share.