For years, it has been one of the most often-cited arguments against EVs: “They aren’t environmentally friendly if the U.S. gets much of its electricity by burning coal.” But that old counterargument is beginning to look like a bunch of hot air.

The year Tesla launched its first EV (2008), 48% of the electricity consumed in the U.S. came from burning coal. Burning coal releases greenhouse gases, so many naysayers argued that EVs were just as dirty as traditional internal combustion cars. And they weren’t completely wrong.

The counterargument has been that an electric vehicle fleet will allow us to transition energy sources. We may even find it most efficient to rotate between renewable energy sources seasonally, based on the weather. But if we all drive internal combustion cars, our economy will remain forever tied to the price of oil.

Scaling up our wind and solar infrastructure has dramatically reduced the cost per unit of electricity for both. Wind and solar became so cheap that coal simply couldn’t compete. By 2024, the share of electricity generated from coal fell to 15%.

The last coal gets shoveled through Intermountain

California has been pushing to make the entire state “coal free.” The only problem was the Intermountain Power Plant, a coal-burning facility located in Utah that has powered much of Los Angeles for 40 years.

California has been building out its renewable energy production at a record rate. By 2023, Intermountain was providing just 10% of L.A.’s electricity (around 0.2% of the state’s total electricity). In 2024, 60% of the electricity used by the Golden State came from solar panels, wind turbines, or other renewable sources. In the summer of 2025, the city of Los Angeles opened another large solar farm and energy storage facility. But L.A. still has a major power problem.

On a cool, sunny day, Los Angeles generates more than enough electricity. But when a heat wave rolls in and everyone fires up their air conditioners, all bets are off.

So across the street from Intermountain, Los Angeles built another plant. This one uses similar steam turbines to generate electricity. But instead of burning coal, the new plant can burn natural gas or hydrogen. It’s currently tuned for a mix of 70% natural gas and 30% hydrogen, but L.A. hopes that will change.

The plan is to send all the excess electricity Los Angeles produces to Utah, where the plant can use it to split water molecules into hydrogen and oxygen atoms. Then it will store the flammable hydrogen deep underground. When Los Angeles needs a boost, the plant will burn the hydrogen, spinning a turbine and generating electricity.

Jason Rondou, an assistant general manager for power planning and operations with the city’s utility, said, “For that seasonal storage, that’s where hydrogen can really provide significant benefit.”

He admits coal has long provided cheap electricity for Los Angeles residents but is excited for the new frontier of cheap renewable energy. “For us to move beyond that and move to a cleaner, innovative technology, I think is very exciting.”

California’s clean energy transition leads the way

If the U.S. transitions to a mostly electric fleet, we’ll face many new challenges. When will electricity be most expensive? Will we need extra power during common travel holidays such as Thanksgiving? And how can our grid deal with surging demand?

Luckily, pioneering states such as California are experimenting with possible solutions right now. And after Intermountain shovels the last of its coal in November, Los Angeles residents charging their EVs can rest assured they’re using entirely renewable energy.