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E360 Digest
June 10, 2026
In a U.S. First, Solar Supplied More Power Than Coal Last Month
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Last month, for the first time in the U.S., solar generated more electricity than coal, a reflection of both the rapid adoption of renewable power and the declining fortunes of America’s aging fleet of coal power plants.<br>Solar output reached an all-time high last month, supplying 12.8 percent of U.S. electricity, with coal supplying 12.2 percent, according to an analysis from energy think tank Ember. As a share of the power supply, solar typically reaches a high in May, when longer days spur greater generation, but mild weather keeps demand in check.<br>Coal output continued to slump last month, reaching a new record low, according to Ember. Its decline comes despite a push by the Trump administration to extend the lives of aging coal plants. Just this week, Energy Secretary Chris Wright issued an emergency order to keep a coal power plant in Orlando, Florida, online. The plant had been scheduled to be retired last year under a plan by the local public utility to shift to renewable energy.<br>While solar is gaining ground on coal nationally, it still trails far behind natural gas. In some states, however, that is beginning to change. A massive buildout of renewables in California has led to a marked decline in gas power in that state. The Energy Information Administration projects that California will see solar generation surpass gas generation for the first time this year.<br>Globally, renewable generation overtook coal last year, according to Ember, which finds that countries are increasingly turning to solar to meet new demand. As a share of global generation, coal has been dropping for more than a decade, while gas has been in decline for five years running, the think tank found.<br>While natural gas had, until recently, been favored as a means of new generation, the think tank said, “gas power is losing momentum as a source of global growth and may be approaching a structural peak.”<br>ALSO ON YALE E360<br>A First Among Major Nations, India Is Industrializing With Solar
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