For the first time ever, solar power has overtaken coal generation for a full month in the US.
Data released by the energy think-tank, Ember, shows that in May, solar power supplied a record 12.8% of US electricity, overtaking coal, which dropped to 12.2%, the fourth-lowest monthly coal data ever recorded.
Record solar generation
Last month, the rays of the sun generated an all-time high of 45.5 terrawatts (TWh) of clean electricity capacity.
This exceeded the solar generation for May 2025 by a whopping 17% and surpassed the previous monthly record, which was set in July last year.
The next record may be imminent
The energy analytical firm believes there’s a high chance that the record could be broken again this year as total solar output normally reaches its highest level in June or July.
The May record puts solar as the third-largest electricity source in the country last month, behind natural gas and nuclear.
While coal output rebounded from its all-time monthly low in April 2026 of 39.3, with May output increasing to 43.4 TWh, it was a staggering 11% below the 2025 May levels. The slight coal generation increase between April and May was outweighed by the significant increase in solar generation.
Trump defeated by market forces
Despite US President Donald Trump doing everything he can to relegate renewable energy technologies such as solar and trying to boost the coal industry, he is defeated by market forces and the energy transition.
In the past five years, the share of coal generation in the US’s electricity mix has nearly halved.
The share of coal in the US’s electricity mix has nearly halved, dropping from From 19.7% in May 2021 to 12.2% in May 2026. Contrasting this against solar power, we see the reverse story, as the rapidly rising renewable energy technology more than doubled from 5.4% to 12.8% in the same time period.
States are throwing their support behind solar
Reacting to the milestone, Nicolas Fulghum, Senior Data Analyst at Ember, said: “US solar power continues to set new records. 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. From Texas to California, markets across the US are betting on solar to meet rising power needs.”
The US solar May milestone comes on the back of renewable energy overall in March 2026, which generated more electricity than natural gas for the first time ever in the US.
Ember say that combining these two milestones is evidence of a strong and robust renewable energy sector despite a difficult clean energy policy environment in the country.
Anders Lorenzen is the founding Editor of A greener life, a greener world.
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