For the first month on record, solar generated more electricity than coal in the United States, marking another milestone in the country's changing power mix.
Solar Generated More U.S. Electricity Than Coal for the First Time
The U.S. power mix reached a historic milestone in May 2026.
For the first month on record, solar generated more electricity than coal.
According to Ember, solar supplied 12.8% of U.S. electricity during the month, while coal accounted for 12.2%.
A Milestone Years in the Making
Solar generated a record 45.5 TWh of electricity in May, up 17% compared with the same month last year.
Coal generation also increased slightly from April, but it remained 11% lower than it was a year earlier. Solar's growth simply outpaced coal's, allowing it to move ahead for the first time.
How Quickly the Market Has Changed
The shift has happened surprisingly fast.
In May 2021:
- ●Coal supplied 19.7% of U.S. electricity.
- ●Solar supplied just 5.4%.
Five years later, solar has more than doubled its share of electricity generation, while coal's share has fallen by nearly half.
Solar also became the country's third-largest source of electricity, behind only natural gas and nuclear.
Why This Doesn't Tell the Whole Story
This milestone applies to one month, not the entire year.
Solar production naturally rises during spring and early summer as daylight hours increase, while electricity demand has not yet reached peak summer cooling levels.
Seasonal Patterns Still Matter
Coal may still generate more electricity than solar during other months of the year, particularly when solar production declines in winter.
That makes May an important milestone, but not necessarily a permanent ranking across every season.
What the Milestone Signals
The larger story is not simply that solar surpassed coal for one month.
It is how quickly the U.S. electricity mix is changing.
Solar has become one of the fastest-growing sources of new electricity generation, while coal's role continues to decline as older plants retire and renewable capacity expands.
Whether solar stays ahead of coal every month is less important than the broader trend.
The gap between the two continues to narrow, and the direction of travel has become increasingly clear.
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