Solar generated more US electricity than coal for the first month on record in May 2026, according to new analysis from global energy think tank Ember. Solar supplied 12.8% of US electricity during the month, while coal dropped to 12.2%.
That’s a dramatic shift in the US power mix. Just five years ago, coal generated 19.7% of US electricity in May, while solar accounted for only 5.4%.
US solar generation hit a record 45.5 terawatt-hours (TWh) in May 2026, up 17% from May 2025 and higher than the previous record set last July. Ember says another record could be broken again this summer.
Solar output usually peaks in June or July, but its share of the electricity mix is often highest in spring, when strong sunshine lines up with milder temperatures before summer cooling demand ramps up.
May was also the first time solar became the third-largest individual source of electricity in the US, behind only natural gas and nuclear. (If solar is included with all other renewables, then they’re the second-largest source of electricity as an overall category of electricity.)
