Solar and wind power projects have been booming in California, like the Pine Tree Wind Farm and Solar Power Plant in the Tehachapi Mountains, but that doesn't mean fossil fuels are fading away quickly. Irfan Khan/Los Angeles Times via Getty Imag hide caption
The Xinyuan Coal Mine operated by Yangquan Coal Industry Group Co. in Jinzhong, Shanxi province, in October. Qilai Shen/Bloomberg via Getty Images hide caption
The Biden administration is opening the West Coast to offshore wind. Companies have largely focused on the East Coast, such as this wind farm off Block Island, R.I. Don Emmert/AFP via Getty Images hide caption
Workers next to solar panels in an integrated power station in Yancheng, China, in October. An unprecedented amount of renewable power came online in the fourth quarter of 2020, according to a new report from the International Energy Agency. China alone added more than 92 gigawatts of capacity, more than triple the amount it added in the fourth quarter of 2019. Hector Retamal / AFP hide caption
A lower-carbon natural gas flame burns on a stovetop at a NW Natural testing facility. Cassandra Profita/Oregon Public Broadcasting hide caption
Snow covers the ground in Waco, Texas, on Feb. 17. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has blamed renewable energy sources for the blackouts that have hit the state. In fact, they were caused by a systemwide failure across all energy sources. Matthew Busch/AFP via Getty Images hide caption
Left: Luminalt employee Pam Quan installs solar panels on the roof of a home in San Francisco in 2018. Right: An oilfield worker fills his truck with water before heading to a drilling site in the Permian Basin oil field in Andrews, Texas, in 2016. Justin Sullivan and Spencer Platt/Getty Images hide caption
Julie Bishop raises the Katahdin breed of sheep, which have hair rather than wool. Dan Charles/NPR hide caption
The Monastery of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel in Washington, D.C. is the new host of a 151 kW community solar garden. The panels will provide roughly 50 nearby households with green energy. Mhari Shaw/NPR hide caption
After decades of dependency on coal for jobs, the Navajo Nation is turning to renewables. Two utility-scale solar farms have been built in recent years and another one is in the works. Laurel Morales/KJZZ hide caption
Power lines and power-generating windmills rise above the rural landscape on June 13, 2018, near Dwight, Ill. Driven by falling costs, global spending on renewable energy sources like wind and solar is now outpacing investment in electricity from fossil fuels and nuclear power. Scott Olson/Getty Images hide caption
Pumpjacks like this one dot the desert of southeast New Mexico, as oil and gas companies rush to develop one of the largest oil reserves in the world. Nathan Rott/NPR hide caption
Solar panels are mounted on the roof of the Los Angeles Convention Center on September 5. The state's governor has signed a landmark bill setting a goal of 100 percent clean energy for the state's electrical needs, by the year 2045. Mario Tama/Getty Images hide caption
Entering the control room at Three Mile Island Unit 1 is like stepping back in time. Except for a few digital screens and new counters, much of the equipment is original to 1974, when the plant began generating electricity. Jeff Brady/NPR hide caption