Solar Power Passes Coal-Fired Electricity in U.K.

In the six months between April and September, U.K. solar panels produced 10 percent more power than the countries coal burning plants, according to a report from the Carbon Brief. Ian Johnston of The Independent reports, "The figures represent a dramatic turnaround in the UK’s electricity supplies."

The story goes on to explain that coal is likely to overtake solar again as the days shrink in the winter months, and that the solar industry faces challenges in the form of government cuts, and inconsistent energy policy.

At the same time "solar capacity nearly doubled in 2015." There will be a cost to maintaining that infrastructure, but the number of people who are now financially tied to this industry through their jobs, innovations in energy storage, the 750,000 U.K. homes with solar panels on their roofs and the growth of solar worldwide suggest that this trend can be slowed but not stopped.