Solar overtook coal in U.S. power generation in May, the first time the renewable source bested the fossil fuel in a calendar month.
Solar supplied 12.8% of U.S. electricity last month while coal accounted for 12.2%, according to a report from the clean energy think tank Ember, which analyzed monthly and hourly data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
The use of solar is surging just as the U.S. scrambles to add new electricity sources to meet the insatiable power needs of AI data centers. The solar industry has managed to grow even as the Trump administration has taken steps to thwart its rise. The administration favors traditional electric sources, including coal and nuclear, which can produce power around the clock, unlike solar and wind.
“This is a structural change in the U.S. power system,” Nicolas Fulghum, a senior data analyst at Ember, said in an interview. Companies are seeking more power, quickly, and are “looking towards solar to be a cheap, affordable and quick-to-deploy source.”
Solar generation in May surged 17% from a year earlier, while coal power shrank 11%. Still, the U.S. remains heavily dependent on fossil fuels. Natural gas is the dominant electric source, with 37% of the electric mix in May, according to Ember.
Coal, meanwhile, is seeing a surge of support from the government. President Trump and his administration have vowed to keep all U.S. coal plants running. The U.S. Energy Department is blocking utilities from closing several aging power plants, and last week the White House pledged about $700 million in financial support for the industry.
However, solar continues to gain share, in part because of wider deployment of batteries that can store energy from panels to be used when the sun isn’t shining, including during peak demand hours at night. Solar and storage together made up 91% of new U.S. capacity installed in the first quarter, according to a separate report released by the Solar Energy Industries Assn. and Wood Mackenzie.
That’s likely to continue, with utilities and data center developers increasingly viewing solar paired with batteries as a key energy source.
“We are going to continue to see record battery deployment year after year,” Fulghum said.
Forgash writes for Bloomberg.
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