Solar generated more electricity than coal and wind in May – EIA data

New federal energy data shows solar had a milestone month. In May, solar panels across the country (both large utility-scale installations and the smaller rooftop kind) generated more electricity than either coal or wind. Solar produced 47,147 gigawatt-hours, edging out coal's 45,119 and wind's 41,157. Over the first five months of 2026, wind and solar together produced 57% more electricity than coal and 26% more than nuclear plants.

The growth isn't just about output today, it's about what's being built. Over the past year, the country added nearly 28,000 megawatts of utility-scale solar capacity plus over 6,600 megawatts of small-scale solar, the kind more likely to show up on a house roof. Battery storage, which lets homes and the grid use solar power even after the sun sets, grew by over 16,500 megawatts. Federal forecasters expect solar, wind, and batteries to keep expanding faster than fossil fuels through mid-2027, while coal and nuclear capacity shrink slightly and natural gas keeps growing more slowly than renewables.

None of this changes what any single homeowner needs to do right now, but it points to a broader trend: solar and battery technology keep getting cheaper and more common, and utilities are leaning into them more each year. That backdrop can matter if you're weighing whether now is a reasonable time to add solar panels or a home battery, since it suggests the industry supplying that equipment is growing, not shrinking.