In yet another blow to the Trump administration\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n
The data shows<\/a> that solar supplied a record 12.8% of US power, while coal generation fell to 12.2%. That represents coal\u2019s fourth-lowest monthly share ever, Ember reports. Also on Wednesday, the Solar Energy Industries Association and analytics firm Wood Mackenzie released<\/a> 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.<\/p>\n \u201cU.S. solar power continues to set new records,\u201d Nicolas Fulghum, a senior data analyst at Ember, said in a release. \u201cOvertaking 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.\u201d<\/p>\n Renewables surviving Trump\u2019s attacks <\/p>\n This news comes just two months after Ember reported that renewables\u2014including wind, solar, hydropower, and bioenergy\u2014produced more than a third of U.S. electricity in March, surpassing natural gas across an entire month for the first time<\/a>.<\/p>\n These milestones suggest Trump\u2019s aggressive anti-renewable policies are failing to stymie the sector\u2019s growth, at least so far. The administration has made sweeping efforts to dismantle<\/a> clean energy tax credits and impede project development through regulatory roadblocks and outright cancelations.<\/p>\n Some of these actions have been reversed by federal courts. Most recently, a judge struck down<\/a> the administration\u2019s 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 \u201cOne Big Beautiful Bill\u201d act, The Hill reports<\/a>.<\/p>\n