Solar beat coal on the US grid in May — a new milestone

In May, solar panels generated more electricity nationwide than coal plants did — the first time that has happened for a full month. Solar made up 12.8% of U.S. electricity that month, while coal fell to 12.2%, near an all-time low. Natural gas remained the largest source, at 37%. The milestone is notable because it happened even as the Trump administration pushes to keep coal plants running, including emergency orders forcing aging plants to stay open and a recent $700 million commitment to repair old coal plants and build two new ones.

The bigger picture is a long decline for coal. Two decades ago it supplied nearly half the country's power; last year that was down to 17%. No new coal plant has been built in the U.S. since 2013, while solar, wind, and battery projects have made up more than 90% of new electricity capacity added in recent years, because they're cheaper and faster to build than new fossil fuel plants.

None of this changes anything about your own home directly, but it reflects a grid that is steadily shifting toward solar and away from coal. For homeowners, that broader trend is part of why rooftop solar, home batteries, and electric equipment like heat pumps increasingly draw on a cleaner mix of power than they did even a few years ago.