Even as President Donald Trump pushes coal over clean energy, solar power is reaching new milestones in the U.S. and remains the leading source of new power.

Data released Wednesday by global energy think tank Ember, along with a report by the Solar Energy Industries Association and analytics firm Wood Mackenzie, show the continued growth of solar and decline of coal in the U.S. despite federal policy. In May, for the first time, solar supplied more of the nation’s electricity than coal, or 12.8%, Ember reports. Coal supplied 12.2%, its fourth-lowest monthly share ever.

“For years solar power has risen in the U.S. electricity mix,” says Nicolas Fulghum, senior energy and data analyst at Ember. “At the same time, coal power has lost its status, first as the largest source in the U.S. mix, and then gradually over the years has fallen even further.”

Solar also became the third-largest source of electricity in the U.S. in May, behind natural gas and nuclear, Fulghum says. Coal generation hit an all-time monthly low in April and rebounded only modestly in May, allowing increasing solar generation to overtake coal, he adds.

Electricity is produced by converting sources of energy—fossil fuels, renewable resources and nuclear—into electrical power. Burning coal, oil and natural gas for electricity emits carbon dioxide, trapping heat in the atmosphere and warming the planet. By contrast, solar, wind, geothermal, hydropower and nuclear are carbon-free.

After about two decades of essentially flat electricity consumption in the U.S., electricity demand is increasing to power artificial intelligence, grow domestic manufacturing and electrify transportation and heating. Fulghum says he expects to see more months when solar exceeds coal generation, before overtaking it on an annual basis in a few years.

These milestones signify that solar “has staying power” at a time when there’s less support for renewable energy at the federal level, he adds.

The Associated Press has the full story.