Solar Power Surpasses Coal in US for First Month on Record
For the first time in American history, solar power has generated more electricity than coal in a single month. In May 2026, solar supplied 12.8% of the nation’s electricity while coal fell to 12.2%, according to data released Wednesday by global energy think tank Ember. The milestone arrives even as the Trump administration pursues an aggressive agenda to revive the struggling coal industry.
A Historic Shift in the US Power Mix
US solar generation hit a record 45.5 terawatt-hours (TWh) in May, up 17% from the same month last year, according to Ember’s analysis of hourly and monthly data from the US Energy Information Administration. Solar also became the third-largest individual source of electricity in the country, trailing only natural gas and nuclear power.
“US solar power continues to set new records,” said Nicolas Fulghum, senior energy and data analyst at Ember. “Overtaking coal for the first month on record shows just how far solar has come, from a niche contributor to the third-largest and fastest-growing source of power in the US electricity system.”
Coal, meanwhile, continues its long-term decline. Generation hit an all-time monthly low of 39.3 TWh in April and rebounded only modestly to 43.4 TWh in May — still 11% lower than May 2025 levels, as reported by Electrek.
“For years solar power has risen in the U.S. electricity mix,” Fulghum added. “At the same time, coal power has lost its status, first as the largest source in the U.S. mix, and then gradually over the years has fallen even further.”
Solar Dominates New Power Generation
A separate report from the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) and analytics firm Wood Mackenzie, covered by PV Tech, reveals that solar and battery storage accounted for 91% of all new power generation capacity installed in the first quarter of 2026. Solar alone added 7.8GW of new capacity, maintaining its position as the leading source of new power added to the grid for five consecutive years.
The US now exceeds 6 million solar installations nationwide across all sectors, including large-scale arrays, commercial, community, and residential rooftop systems.
Policy vs. Market Forces
The milestone comes as the Trump administration pushes forward with plans to support coal. Last week, President Trump announced a nearly $700 million plan to support coal-fired power plants and coal exports, declaring at a White House event that “coal’s a great business” and that “in terms of power, there’s really nothing like it.”
Yet market forces appear to be moving in the opposite direction. Martin Pochtaruk, CEO and founder of solar panel manufacturer Heliene, noted that investors follow returns. “Trump can say that coal is coming back but investors will invest their money in whatever brings the best return,” he said. “And for power generation that is solar, making it the fastest-growing fuel.”
The administration has canceled solar and wind projects, implemented policies that slow clean energy permitting, and terminated $7 billion in funding for the Solar for All program. A White House spokeswoman, Taylor Rogers, defended the approach, stating that the president “has reversed the Left’s devastating policies, saved the American coal industry, prevented the retirement of more than 17 gigawatts of power, and saved lives during heightened demand periods.”
Darren Van’t Hof, interim president and CEO of SEIA, warned that impeding solar development carries real risks. “As power demand skyrockets, political and regulatory attacks are slowing down the exact resources we rely on,” he said. “Impeding the only sector that is actively building new power is a reckless gamble that will only drive electricity bills higher.”
Red States Lead the Solar Boom
In a striking political irony, states won by Trump in the 2024 election accounted for 74% of all solar capacity installed in Q1 2026. Texas, Florida, Ohio, Indiana, Michigan, Arizona, and Mississippi all ranked among the top 10 states for new solar additions.
Johanna Neumann, senior director at the Environment America Research and Policy Center, said the data challenges a common misconception. “I think there is a misconception in the United States that clean energy is something for the coasts and liberal cities,” she said. “The true story of renewable energy is a 50-state story.”
Her organization’s data shows that 32 US states generated at least 10% of their retail electricity sales from solar, wind, and geothermal in 2025, up from just 18 states in 2016.
What’s Next
Ember’s Fulghum expects to see more months where solar exceeds coal generation, with solar overtaking coal on an annual basis within a few years. However, the outlook is not without challenges. SEIA and Wood Mackenzie forecast that US solar additions will be flat over the next five years despite rising demand, citing permitting bottlenecks as a key constraint.
Michelle Davis, head of solar at Wood Mackenzie, noted that “we’ve seen a notable increase in solar procurements in utility resource planning, but current permitting bottlenecks continue to serve as near-term headwinds.”
Globally, the trend is unmistakable. Renewables are expected to become the largest global energy source, accounting for nearly 45% of electricity generation by 2030, according to the International Energy Agency. The question for the United States is whether policy can keep pace with the market’s clear preference for solar.