Sign in Subscribe

May 2026: US Solar Beats Coal

For the first time ever, the electricity mix in the US had more solar power than coal power.

Seamus

• 2 min read
An old energy plant with cooling towers behind a field of new solar panels.
Solar or coal: The race turns. Image by Michael Reichelt, Pixabay.

Eighteen months ago, in an article called Coal: on its dirty little way out, we compared trends in solar and coal usage for the OECD. We predicted solar would soon produce more power than coal when we said, "Coal, watch out. Your caboose is on fire."

It's happened. According to the global energy think-tank Ember:

New York, 10 June 2026 – Solar overtook coal generation in the US electricity mix for the first month on record in May 2026, according to official monthly and preliminary hourly generation data analysed by global energy think tank Ember. Solar supplied a record 12.8% of US electricity, while coal fell to 12.2%, its fourth-lowest monthly share ever.1

Gas: 37.12%. Hydro: 6.45%. Bioenergy: 1.03%. Nuclear: 17.85%. Other renewables: .41%. Wind: 11.53%. Solar: 12.79%. Coal: 12.19%. Other fossil: 5%. Fossil industry gloating: 0%.
In May, 2026, solar beat out coal in the US energy-generation mix. Image by Michael Reichelt, Pixabay.

Ember uses information directly from the US Energy Information Administration (EIA). To arrive at their numbers, Ember polled the EIA sources directly, and aggregated together utility-scale solar (including hybrid solar-with-battery-storage) and small-scale distributed solar.2

Ember found that, for the month of May, coal plants supplied 43.38 terawatts of power, but the US used 45.52 terawatts of solar.

This has happened in a policy environment3 that discourages solar4 and other forms of alternative energy and encourages coal power5.

Is this as much fun to watch as the World Cup?

Reading

  1. “Solar Overtakes Coal in US Electricity for the First Month on Record.” Ember, n.d. Accessed June 13, 2026. https://ember-energy.org/latest-updates/solar-overtakes-coal-in-us-electricity-for-the-first-month-on-record.
  2. “Electric Power Monthly - U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA).” Accessed June 13, 2026. https://www.eia.gov/electricity/monthly/epm_table_grapher.php.
  3. AP News. “Solar Power Hits New Milestones in the US Even as Trump Boosts Coal over Clean Energy.” June 10, 2026. https://apnews.com/article/trump-solar-coal-mining-climate-electricity-50250099a4e94384af4aa9f197d62403.
  4. “Anti-Solar Actions Are Restricting Energy Supply; Right When the Grid Can Least Afford It.” SEIA, n.d. Accessed June 14, 2026. https://seia.org/blog/anti-solar-actions-are-restricting-energy-supply-right-when-the-grid-can-least-afford-it/.
  5. Energy.Gov. “FACT SHEET: The Department of Energy Is Ending The War On Beautiful, Clean Coal.” June 10, 2026. https://www.energy.gov/articles/fact-sheet-department-energy-ending-war-beautiful-clean-coal.