Solar generated more power than coal for the first time in US history

Posted on June 20, 2026 by Al Bergstein

This posted today from the great website Chartr. If you don’t subscribe to it you should. There is nothing that Trump can do to bring back coal, it’s on its way out. Gas fired is replacing it, with solar a distant second.

At the same time that the Trump administration is pushing further toward coal power, announcing plans only last week to invest almost $700 million into reviving the industry, a key renewable energy source has just hit a major milestone in the US.

New data from energy think tank Ember, released Wednesday, shows that solar supplied 12.8% of US energy generation in May — marking not only the highest share ever recorded for the clean energy source, but also the first time that solar has generated more monthly energy than coal in the US, which supplied 12.2%.

The figure for May denotes the fourth-lowest monthly share that coal has ever seen, only slightly greater than the all-time low of 11.7% observed for April. From 1984 until 2010, coal was America’s largest source of energy. However, as the fossil fuel continues to fall out of favor, that share has been almost cut in half in the last five years alone.

Meanwhile, demand for renewables like solar has boomed as America’s energy use keeps surging to new highs. On top of surpassing coal last month, solar became the third-largest source of electricity overall in the US, behind natural gas and nuclear, and remains the nation’s fastest-growing power source, per Climate Central.

Even after the Trump administration terminated $7 billion in solar project funding last August, it seems the energy source remains a clear bright spot. Another report released this week from the Solar Energy Industries Association found that the US added 7.8 gigawatts of new solar capacity in the first quarter of 2026 across more than 6 million solar installations nationwide.

https://sherwood.news/world/solar-generated-more-power-than-coal-in-the-us-for-the-first-time-ever/

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State regulators recommend costs of closing Colstrip 1 and 2 be included in rate case – Seattle PI

Posted on February 2, 2016 by Al Bergstein

We all want to see a move to an oil and coal free future. Here’s an article calling out the costs. If you are in favor of the move, you will need to pay more. But in the long run, this will force people to either move to tidal or solar/wind on their homes, or in community electricity farms, and continue the move to more energy efficiency. We are facing a very uncertain future, and it’s the cost of getting there.

State utility regulators issued an investigation report Monday recommending Puget Sound Energy include the costs of closing its two older coal-fired electric generating plants in Colstrip, Mont. in the company’s next rate case. Colstrip plume 2_1The staff of the Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission found that, based on information provided by PSE, current rates aren’t enough to recover the costs of retiring the plant and conducting environmental remediation. PSE has estimated that costs of closure for Colstrip 1 and 2 will range from about $65 to $100 million. The costs are expected to increase the longer the plants continue to operate. Including these costs in a rate case will allow commission staff and interested parties to evaluate the estimates and make recommendations to the commission in order to mitigate the impact on PSE’s ratepayers, the commission said. The company is required to file a general rate case by April 1. Rita Robison reports. (SeattlePI.Com)

http://blog.seattlepi.com/boomerconsumer/2016/02/01/state-regulators-recommend-costs-of-closing-colstrip-1-and-2-be-included-in-rate-case/

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Major News: Climate Change to be included in Coal Export EIS – Earthfix and Seattle Times

Posted on August 1, 2013 by Al Bergstein

This is likely the first time that Climate Change has been included. Not sure this will withstand court challenge, but it’s likely to end up at the Supreme Court as precedence. This has wide ranging ramifications, including here on the Peninsula with the biomass projects, for example.

The state Department of Ecology on Wednesday announced it was launching an environmental review, unprecedented in scope, of a proposed coal-export terminal near Bellingham. The scope of the review will range from other Western states that would see increased numbers of coal trains, to Asia, where coal combustion will create greenhouse gases. The state review of the proposed Gateway Pacific Terminal at Cherry Point in Northwest Washington is expected to take some two years to complete. It will be coordinated with more limited reviews conducted by Whatcom County and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Hal Bernton and Brian M. Rosenthal report.

State to undertake sweeping review of coal-terminal plan  http://seattletimes.com/html/localnews/2021513819_coalterminalxml.html

See also: Climate Change & Rail Transport Will Be Included When Measuring Coal Export Project’s Impact  http://earthfix.kcts9.org/energy/article/climate-change-rail-transport-will-be-included-whe/

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