For the first time, solar beats coal in US electricity, with nearly all new power from solar or batteries

For the first time, solar produced a larger share of U.S. electricity than coal over the course of a single month, The Associated Press reported.

These sorts of changes are occurring across the country, and The Nevada Independent piggybacked on the report by detailing how the changing energy mix is transpiring in the state.

What happened?

May's numbers from Ember, released alongside a Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) and Wood Mackenzie report, showed solar trailing only natural gas and nuclear among U.S. power sources, the AP said. 

Per the analysis, solar reached 12.8% of generation for the month, just ahead of coal at 12.2%. That crossover arrived as President Donald Trump has kept championing coal and undoing some federal backing for clean energy, as the AP noted.

He reinforced that stance last week by proposing nearly $700 million for coal plants and exports as the outlet  recounted, saying that "coal's a great business" and that "in terms of power, there's really nothing like it."

But the market is heading another way. SEIA and Wood Mackenzie said solar and battery storage made up 91% of new generating capacity in the first quarter in the report.

Nevada offers a local example, as the Nevada Independent revealed. The state energy provider NV Energy says solar already represents roughly one-fourth of its utility mix in Northern and Southern Nevada, and it is planning thousands of megawatts more in solar and battery storage.

Meanwhile, the state is also getting ready for a sharp rise in demand from data centers.

Why does it matter?

This shift could eventually mean lower electric bills and less pollution from the power sector. Cost is a big reason for the shift, Sean McKenna of the Desert Research Institute told the Nevada Independent. 

"Leveled cost of electricity from solar is now the cheapest generation of electricity in many states," he told the paper. 

As electricity demand climbs with artificial intelligence, manufacturing, and electrification, solar remains one of the fastest resources to bring online. States like Nevada are also ramping up natural gas production, per the Nevada Independent. 

Still, Nevada mirrors the rest of the country with solar and battery storage dominating future projects that hope to contend with skyrocketing power needs. 

What are people saying?

Ember analyst Nicolas Fulghum characterized the shift as years in the making to the AP.

"For years solar power has risen in the U.S. electricity mix," Fulghum told the outlet. "At the same time, coal power has lost its status, first as the largest source in the U.S. mix, and then gradually over the years has fallen even further."

The White House rejected that argument in comments to the AP. 

"The President has reversed the Left's devastating policies, saved the American coal industry, prevented the retirement of more than 17 gigawatts of power, and saved lives during heightened demand periods," spokeswoman Taylor Rogers told the outlet.

SEIA's Darren Van't Hof ripped the Trump administration's moves to stifle clean energy in a statement provided to the AP.

"Impeding the only sector that is actively building new power is a reckless gamble that will only drive electricity bills higher," he said, per The Nevada Independent.

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