This week’s Five Friday Facts is a short and sweet set of numbers from a recent NPR article. The natural gas revolution is exactly that.
- Until recently, half of U.S. power plants burned coal to make electricity. Now, that’s down to about one-third.
- Since 2010, about 150 coal plants either have been retired or it’s been announced they will be retired soon.
- Natural gas is providing 30 percent of our electricity, with coal a half-dozen percentage points above that.
- Water, wind and solar now provide about 12 percent of our power.
- The actual cost of the gas — rather than the cost of building the equipment to burn it — accounts for about half a utility’s operating cost. That’s way more than coal or uranium fuel.
