Solar just outproduced coal in the US for the first time ever.

Solar and coal as a share of US electricity generation, 2010 to 2026. Percent.

Why this is happening

Solar is now the cheapest new power to build almost anywhere, so utilities keep adding it and little else.
Coal plants are old and costly to run, so they are being retired far faster than anyone builds new ones.
May is a high-sun, low-demand month, so it is where a fast-growing solar fleet first edges past a shrinking coal one.

The take

Coal is not being regulated away, it is being out-priced, and that does not reverse. Cheap power is becoming the economy's new advantage, and the AI data-centre boom is about to make it priceless.

Source: Ember (May 2026)