zlacker

Hasn't the US decided to prefer nuclear and fossil fuels (most expensive generation methods) over renewables (least expensive generation methods)?[1][2]

I doubt the US choice of energy generation is ideological as much a practicality. China absolutely dominates renewables with 80% of solar PV modules manufactured in China and 95% of wafers manufactured in China.[3] China installed a world record 277GW of new solar PV generation in 2024 which was a 45% year-on-year increase.[4] By contract, the US only installed ~1/10th this capacity in 2024 with only 14GW of solar PV generation installed in the first half of 2024.[5]

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cost_of_electricity_by_source

[2] https://www.iea.org/data-and-statistics/charts/lcoe-and-valu...

[3] https://www.iea.org/reports/advancing-clean-technology-manuf...

[4] https://www.pv-magazine.com/2025/01/21/china-hits-277-17-gw-...

[5] https://www.energy.gov/eere/solar/quarterly-solar-industry-u...

>>dhx+(OP)
> Hasn't the US decided to prefer nuclear and fossil fuels (most expensive generation methods) over renewables (least expensive generation methods)?[1][2]

This completely ignores storage and the ability to control the output depending on needs. Instead of LCOE the LFSCOE number makes much more sense in practical terms.