Solar Tops Coal in U.S. Power Mix for the First Month Ever

Solar power held a record-high 12.8% share of U.S. electricity supply in May, overtaking coal-generated power for the first full month on record, energy think tank Ember said in a report on Wednesday.

While the share of solar-generated power jumped to a record high for a full month, the share of coal in the U.S. electricity mix slumped to 12.2% last month, the fourth-lowest monthly share of coal ever.

Solar generated an all-time high total of 45.5 terawatt-hours (TWh) in May, up by 17% from a year earlier and surpassing the previous record set…