SUN DAY CAMPAIGN
Renewables Were 26% of U.S. Electrical Generation and 36% of Installed Capacity in 2025 as EIA Projects Even Faster Solar, Wind & Battery Growth in 2026

U.S. EIA RELEASES FINAL 2025 ELECTRICITY DATA:

• RENEWABLES WERE 26% OF ELECTRICAL GENERATION AND 36% OF INSTALLED CAPACITY
• ANNUAL CAPACITY ADDITIONS BY SOLAR, WIND & BATTERIES
• PROJECTED TO INCREASE BY OVER 60% IN 2026

A review by the SUN DAY Campaign of data just released by the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) reveals that the mix of renewable energy sources provided nearly 26% of U.S. electrical generation in 2025 as well as over 36% of installed generating capacity. Further, solar, wind, and batteries are projected to add over 60% more generating capacity in 2026 than in 2025 thereby assuring that those sources provide virtually all net new generating capacity this year.

Solar electrical generation set new records in 2025:

EIA's latest monthly "Electric Power Monthly" report (with data through December 31, 2025), once again confirms that solar is the fastest growing among the major sources of U.S. electricity.

Electrical generation by utility-scale (i.e., >1-megawatt (MW)) solar thermal and photovoltaic expanded by 34.5% while that from "estimated" small-scale (e.g., rooftop) solar PV systems rose by 11.0% during 2025 compared to 2024. [1]

The combination of utility-scale and small-scale solar increased by almost a third (28.0%) and produced a bit under 9.0% (utility-scale: 6.54%; small-scale: 2.06%) of total U.S. electrical generation last year - up from 6.9% a year earlier. Further, solar now accounts for over a third (33.46%) of U.S. electrical generation by renewable energy sources.

Wind continues to hold the lead among renewables:

Wind turbines across the U.S. produced more than a tenth (10.3%) of U.S. electricity in 2025 - an increase of 2.8% compared to 2024. In December alone, wind-generated electricity was 19.0% greater than a year earlier.

Wind + solar were almost one-fifth of total U.S. electrical generation - a larger share than that provided by either coal or nuclear power:  

In 2025, electrical generation by wind plus utility-scale and small-scale solar increased by 12.9% and provided almost a fifth (18.9%) of the U.S. total, up from 17.2% during 2024.

Further, the combination of wind and solar provided 15.7% more electricity than did coal last year, and 8.7% more than the nation's nuclear power plants.

Electrical output by the mix of all renewables was almost 26% of total U.S. generation:

The mix of all renewables (i.e., wind and solar plus hydropower, biomass and geothermal) produced 9.6% more electricity in 2025 than they did a year ago and provided (25.7%) of total U.S. electricity production compared to 24.1% twelve months earlier. [2]

Renewables' share of electrical generation is now second to only that of natural gas whose electrical output actually dropped by 3.3% in 2025.  

Solar, wind and battery storage dominated capacity additions in 2025 and will do so again in 2026:

In 2025, utility-scale solar capacity grew by 27,738.4-MW while an additional 6,277.4-MW was provided by small-scale solar. EIA foresees continued strong solar growth, with even more utility-scale solar capacity - 44,470.0-MW - being added by the end of 2026.

Explosive growth was also experienced by utility-scale battery storage, which grew by 58.4% during the year and added 15,775.1-MW of new capacity. EIA also notes that planned battery capacity additions during 2026 total 24,268.5-MW - a further increase of 56.7%.

In addition, wind made a strong showing in 2025, adding 6,173.6-MW, while planned capacity additions in 2026 would nearly double that amount: 10,369.0-MW (on-shore) plus 1,515.0-MW (off-shore).

By the end of 2025, renewables were 33.2% of utility-scale capacity (not including storage). Adding estimated small-scale solar capacity, renewables' share was 36.3%.

Should EIA's forecasts come to fruition, new capacity additions by solar, wind, and batteries in 2026 would be 62% more than those in 2025.

On the other hand, last year, natural gas capacity increased by 5,731.5-MW and nuclear power added a mere 60.3-MW. Meanwhile, coal capacity plummeted by 4,397.4-MW, petroleum-based capacity fell by an additional 559.4-MW, and "other" fossil fuel gases dipped by 62.2-MW.

Thus, during the first year of the Trump Administration, renewable energy capacity - including battery storage, small-scale solar, hydropower, geothermal, and biomass - ballooned by 55,808.8-MW while that of all fossil fuels and nuclear power combined grew by just 772.7-MW. [3]

In 2026, all net new generating capacity is projected to come from renewables and battery storage:

The second year of the Trump Administration is projected to be even more lop-sided. Capacity growth by utility-scale renewables and batteries in 2026 is projected to total 80,809.2-MW (EIA does not provide a forecast for small-scale solar but, based on recent growth rates, the SUN DAY Campaign estimates it will provide an additional 6,000-MW or more). [4]

Meanwhile the net capacity of natural gas, coal, and oil is forecast to fall by 4,211.6-MW. No new nuclear capacity is currently predicted.

Thus, in 2026, renewables and battery storage will account for all of net new utility-scale capacity additions.

Should EIA's forecast materialize, by the end of 2026, the mix of all renewables, including estimated small-scale solar, would reach 525,356.1-MW - surpassing that of natural gas (514,212.5-MW - and that does not include the capacity provided by battery storage.

Moreover, the installed capacity of utility-scale and estimated small-scale solar combined (261,166.0-MW) would surpass that of wind (170,154.9-MW). Solar capacity would also handily exceed that of coal (163,425.8-MW) and more than double that of nuclear power (98,451.5-MW) although the latter two sources would still have significantly higher capacity factors. [5]

Further, including estimated small-scale solar, renewables' share of generating capacity could reach 40% by the end of this year - and, again, that does not include the contribution of battery storage.

"Dramatic growth by solar, wind, and battery storage is the key take-away of EIA's 2025 data," noted the SUN DAY Campaign's executive director Ken Bossong. "And if EIA's projections for 2026 prove correct, (to paraphrase Al Jolson) you ain't seen nothing yet."

Source:

EIA released its latest "Electric Power Monthly" report on February 24, 2026. The full report can be found at: https://www.eia.gov/electricity/monthly

For the data cited in this release, see:

Table ES1.A ("Total Electric Power Industry Summary Statistics, 2025 and 2024");

Table ES1.B ("Total Electric Power Industry Summary Statistics, Year-to-Date 2025 and 2024");

Table 1.1.A ("Net Generation from Renewable Sources");

Table 6.1 ("Electric Generating Summer Capacity Changes (MW), November 2025 to December 2025");

Table 6.1.A ("Estimated Net Summer Solar Photovoltaic Capacity from Utility and Small-Scale Facilities"); and

Table 6.07.C ("Usage Factors for Utility-Scale Storage Generators").

Notes:   

[1] In its "Electric Power Monthly" report, EIA refers to small-scale or distributed solar as "Estimated Small Scale Solar Photovoltaic." Unless otherwise indicated, all calculations presented in this release include electrical generation by small-scale solar which EIA estimates to have totaled 93,148-GWh in 2025. Utility-scale solar totaled 295,671-GWh in 2025.

[2] In 2025, wind produced 464,391-GWh (10.3%) of total U.S. electrical generation while utility-scale and small-scale solar combined produced 388,819-GWh (8.6%), hydropower produced 247,023-GWh (5.4%), biomass produced 46,187-GWh (1.0%), and geothermal produced 15,669-GWh (<0.4%).

[3] EIA presents its capacity data as "summer capacity" defined as the maximum output that generating equipment can supply to system load at the time of summer peak demand. See Table 6.1.

[4] In 2025, estimated small-scale solar accounted for 6,277.4-MW in new capacity additions. The SUN DAY Campaign is therefore assuming that at least 6,000-MW in new small-scale solar capacity will be added in 2026.

[5] For 2025, EIA reports capacity factors of 48.7%, 58.4%, and 91.0% for coal, natural gas, and nuclear power respectively. By comparison, the capacity factors for wind and utility-scale PV are 34.2% and 24.4% respectively. See Tables 6.07.A and 6.07.B. Capacity factors for small-scale systems are usually lower - i.e., 10%-25%.

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The SUN DAY Campaign is a non-profit research and educational organization founded in 1992 to support a rapid transition to 100% reliance on sustainable energy technologies as a cost-effective alternative to nuclear power and fossil fuels and as a solution to climate change.