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Earth Wise
Earth Wise

Solar ahead of coal in Texas

By Randy Simon
Published July 8, 2026 at 1:00 AM EDT
Jonathan Cutrer
/
Flickr

The Trump administration is trying very hard to prop up coal power in the US. The Department of Energy is keeping struggling coal plants on life support, costing taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars. The Department of the Interior is blocking wind and solar developments that involve public lands. But in spite of all this, coal power is fighting a losing battle.

For the first time ever, solar power is going to generate more electricity than coal in the power market managed by the Electric Reliability Council of Texas. Developers in Texas are adding more solar power than anywhere else in the country, and nobody is building new coal power plants in the state.

Trump officials argue that coal is more reliable than solar because it can operate around the clock. Despite that, coal plants in Texas can’t keep up with the total annual and monthly electricity production from the rapidly growing solar fleet. The intermittency of solar power has not impacted Texan grid reliability. The grid there comprises a diverse portfolio that includes gas plants, nuclear, wind, and, increasingly, batteries that store excess solar power that can be used when the sun isn’t shining.

Texas is a deep red state but money talks and solar power is the smart play in energy. The state might not have the same focus on climate and environmental issues that are a focus in blue states, but market forces tend to prevail. As the rapid buildout of solar power in Texas continues, expectations are that solar production in 2027 will be up 27% over this year’s total. At that point, solar will have left coal in the dust.

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This script was adapted from "Solar to Overtake Coal on Texas Grid for the First Time Ever This Year," by Julian Spector, Canary Media, May 18, 2026.

Tags
Earth Wise Climate ChangeEnvironmentSolarCoalTexasRenewable Energy
Randy Simon
Randy Simon has over 30 years of experience in renewable energy technology, materials research, superconductor applications, and a variety of other technical and management areas. He has been an officer of a publicly-traded Silicon Valley company, worked in government laboratories, the aerospace industry, and at university research institutions. He holds a PhD in physics from UCLA. Dr. Simon has authored numerous technical papers, magazine articles, energy policy documents, online articles and blogs, and a book, and holds seven patents. He also composes, arranges and produces jazz music
See stories by Randy Simon
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