Utah's Solar Power Overtakes Coal and Gas for First Time

Utah just made energy history, and the future looks bright.

Solar panels across the state generated nearly 1 terawatt hour of electricity in May 2026, accounting for nearly a third of all power produced that month. That's more than natural gas at 32 percent and coal at 28 percent, marking the first time solar has topped all other electricity sources in Utah.

The transformation happened thanks to several massive solar farms coming online recently. The Green River Energy Center, sprawling across 2,500 acres in central Utah, started operating this spring with 400 megawatts of solar generation and 400 megawatts of battery storage. Meanwhile, the Faraday Solar project in Utah County now powers a Meta data center with up to 685 megawatts, and the Elektron Solar Project sends 80 megawatts to Salt Lake City and surrounding areas.

"The trend of more and more solar in Utah is wonderful news for air quality, it's wonderful news for the climate, and it's wonderful news for jobs and the economy," said Dan Schroeder, a physics professor at Weber State University who tracks energy data.

The numbers back him up. Solar now supports nearly 8,000 jobs in Utah across 132 companies, including 54 developers and 23 manufacturers. Investors poured $1.5 billion into the state's solar market in 2025 alone.

By comparison, oil and gas extraction employed just 1,291 people in Utah in 2025, while coal mining accounted for 1,059 jobs in 2023. Coal and petroleum manufacturing added another 1,905 positions last year.

The solar surge has helped Utah break free from coal dependence. Back in 2017, coal generated between 64 and 78 percent of the state's electricity depending on the month. By this spring, that number dropped to less than a third.

Utah's sunny, dry climate means there's room to grow even more. California already gets 51 percent of its electricity from solar during peak months, showing what's possible.

The Ripple Effect: Wind power is joining the renewable energy revolution in the region too. Wind generation recently surpassed all other sources for the first time in December and January across Utah, Wyoming, and Idaho in PacifiCorp's service area, thanks partly to 400 megawatts of new turbines at the Rock Creek II facility.

The two renewable sources work perfectly together. Wind generation peaks in winter months while solar produces the most in summer, creating year-round clean energy. "Wind plus solar is on a tear right now," said Logan Mitchell, a climate scientist with Utah Clean Energy. "We may have achieved liftoff."

The timing matters more than ever. Utah saw virtually zero snowpack this winter, setting up a dangerous wildfire season and raising questions about future water supplies. Record heat followed by cold snaps devastated fruit crops, and tick-borne illnesses are rising across the West.

Renewables combined with battery storage now produce some of the cheapest, cleanest, and most reliable energy in the country, Mitchell explained. Unlike fossil fuels, they're not subject to price spikes from global politics.

Nationwide, 51 percent of new utility-scale electricity generation added to the grid this year is expected to come from solar, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. The country will likely add 43.4 gigawatts of solar, 24.3 gigawatts of battery storage, and 11.8 gigawatts of wind power in 2026, compared to just 6.3 gigawatts of natural gas and zero new coal capacity.

Utah's energy milestone proves clean power isn't just good for the planet—it's good for paychecks, air quality, and energy independence too.