In yet another blow to the Trump administration’s energy agenda, solar overtook coal power generation in the U.S. electricity mix for the first month on record in May, according to an analysis published Wednesday by the energy think tank Ember.
The data shows that solar supplied a record 12.8% of US power, while coal generation fell to 12.2%. That represents coal’s fourth-lowest monthly share ever, Ember reports. Also on Wednesday, the Solar Energy Industries Association and analytics firm Wood Mackenzie released their US Solar Market Insight Q2 report, which underscores the continued growth of solar and the decline of coal despite federal efforts to revitalize the domestic fossil fuel industry.
“U.S. solar power continues to set new records,” Nicolas Fulghum, a senior data analyst at Ember, said in a release. “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 U.S. electricity system.”
Renewables surviving Trump’s attacks
This news comes just two months after Ember reported that renewables—including wind, solar, hydropower, and bioenergy—produced more than a third of U.S. electricity in March, surpassing natural gas across an entire month for the first time.
These milestones suggest Trump’s aggressive anti-renewable policies are failing to stymie the sector’s growth, at least so far. The administration has made sweeping efforts to dismantle clean energy tax credits and impede project development through regulatory roadblocks and outright cancelations.
Some of these actions have been reversed by federal courts. Most recently, a judge struck down the administration’s Internal Revenue Service (IRS) guidance that made it difficult for wind and solar projects to claim federal tax subsidies. However, the ruling comes less than a month before the deadline to phase out clean energy tax credits under the “One Big Beautiful Bill” act, The Hill reports.
Despite the political turmoil, renewables are still the fastest-growing energy sector in the U.S., largely due to the rapid expansion of solar. According to the most recent Solar Market Insight report, the country added 7.8 gigawatts of new solar capacity in the first quarter of 2026 alone, representing 91% of new capacity installed in Q1.
Ember’s analysis for the month of May suggests solar is continuing on this upward trajectory. Last month, solar generated an all-time-high total of 45.5 terawatt hours, exceeding its May 2025 output by 17% and surpassing the previous record set in July last year.
“This record could be broken again in the coming summer months,” Ember states in a news release. “While total solar output typically peaks in June or July, its share of the electricity mix is often highest in April or May, when strong solar output coincides with more moderate demand before summer cooling needs increase.”
Still, the Trump administration shows no sign of backing down in its fight against renewables. As U.S. energy consumption skyrockets amid the AI boom, federal efforts to hinder clean energy growth are creating a supply-and-demand mismatch while also accelerating greenhouse gas emissions. The sector may be staying the course for now, but whether it will continue to do so remains to be seen.
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