Despite Trump’s Efforts, Solar Energy Production Outperforms Coal in The Lone Star State

Trump and his Texan fossil fuel cronies wanted lumps of coal in their Christmas stockings. Instead, they got sunbeams. 

Texas – the state whose top political leaders have been trying to discourage clean energy projects – witnessed electricity from solar energy surge past electricity produced from burning coal in 2025. 

According to the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), solar farms contributed 67,800 gigawatt-hours of electricity to its grid in 2025, exceeding the 63,000 gigawatt-hours of electricity generated by coal-fired power plants. Until recent years, coal was the top provider of electric generation in that state. Now, it’s dropped to number four, and it’s still falling. In 2025, renewable energy provided 37% of ERCOT’s total electricity needs, 23% from wind turbines and 14% from solar arrays. 

Why Track Texas? 

Texas serves as an important test case for the potential of clean, renewable energy, in part because of its unique one-state independent electric grid. This makes the relative contributions of different power sources easier to track precisely. According to the new numbers from Texas, it’s time for fossil fuels to beware: Solar, wind, and battery storage have your number, and they’re coming for you.