On Tuesday, the US Energy Information Agency released its latest data on how the US generated electricity during the first six months of 2025. The data suggests the notable surge in power use is flattening out a bit compared to earlier in the year, with the growth in coal use falling along with it. And despite the best efforts of the Trump Administration, the boom in solar power continues, with solar looking poised to pass hydroelectric before the year is out.
Growing, but moderating
For the last few decades, the US has largely seen its use of electricity remain flat. That's changed over the last year or so, with energy use ramping up, likely due in part to increased data center use. Earlier in the year, data indicated that demand for electricity was up roughly five percent year-over-year. But that seems to be tailing off over the course of the spring, leaving total electricity demand up by three percent for the January-through-June period.
The somewhat lower demand has had a positive effect on coal use. Earlier this year, coal was up by about 20 percent compared to the same period the year before. Now, it's only up by a bit under 17 percent. That's still terrible given coal's environmental and health impacts, not to mention its cost. But it's not as bad as it has been, and it could have been even better had the Trump Administration not forced a coal plant that was slated for closure to stay open.
The other big percentage change is in solar power, which has continued its sharp rise, with a gain of nearly 40 percent. Solar is expected to account for the majority of new generating capacity set to be installed this year.
Compared to a year earlier, the only big changes are coal and solar. Credit: John Timmer
In terms of actual Terawatt-hours produced, the increase in solar power (about 40 TW-hr) was close to offsetting the increase in coal generation (50 TW-hr). The other big change was in natural gas, which dropped by 32 TW-hr compared to the same period the year before. But because natural gas is the largest single source of electrical generation in the US, that amounts to just a 3.7 percent change year-over-year.