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Swanson's Law
Trends
- 1US utility-scale solar output surges as coal declines●When a falling cost curve meets a rising demand curve, adoption accelerates. Over the first five months of 2026, utility
Utility-scale solar generation rose 21.6% in the first five months of 2026 compared with a year earlier, while coal generation fell 10.9%. Commenters attribute the shift to Swanson's Law, which holds that solar costs drop each time installed capacity doubles, arguing that falling costs combined with rising demand are driving rapid adoption and accelerating coal's decline.