Solar panels generated 50% more electricity than the fossil fuel across the month, as days lengthened and coal use fell. Solar generated an estimated 1,336 gigawatt hours (GWh) of electricity in May, compared to 893 GWh output from coal. Solar surpassed coal over a whole day for the first time on April 9, while the electricity produced by coal fell to zero several times in early May, thought to be the first time this had happened since the late 19th century. The government has pledged to phase out all coal-fired electricity by 2025, but a conservative thinktank called for the shutdown to come at least two years earlier.

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