SUN DAY CAMPAIGN
EIA Says Solar Topped 10% and Renewables Provided Almost a Third of U.S. Electrical Generation in April, Nearly Matching Natural Gas, as Solar + Wind Produced More Than Either Coal or Nuclear

EIA DATA SHOW RENEWABLES SET NEW RECORDS IN APRIL

• SOLAR GENERATED >10% of U.S. ELECTRICITY, EASILY SURPASSING HYDROPOWER
• SOLAR + WIND PRODUCED MORE ELECTRICITY THAN EITHER COAL OR NUCLEAR POWER
• OUTPUT BY ALL RENEWABLES WAS ALMOST A THIRD OF TOTAL GENERATION AND NEARLY EQUAL TO NATURAL GAS

A review by the SUN DAY Campaign of data just released by the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) reveals that solar provided over 10% total U.S. electrical generation in April while wind + solar produced almost one-quarter and the mix of all renewable energy sources generated nearly a third.

Solar electrical generation set new records in April and the first third of 2025:

EIA's latest monthly "Electric Power Monthly" report (with data through April 30, 2025), confirms that solar continues to be the fastest growing among the major sources of U.S. electricity.

In April alone, electrical generation by utility-scale solar (i.e., >1-megawatt (MW)) increased by 39.3% while "estimated" small-scale (e.g., rooftop) solar PV increased by 11.8%. Combined, they grew by 31.3% and provided over a tenth (10.7%) of the nation's electrical output during the month. [1]

Moreover, utility-scale solar thermal and photovoltaic expanded by 42.4% while that from small-scale systems rose by 11.4% during the first third of 2025 compared to the same period in 2024. The combination of utility-scale and small-scale solar increased by almost a third (32.9%) and was almost 7.7% of total U.S. electrical generation for January-April - up from 6.1% a year earlier.

As a consequence, solar-generated electricity easily surpassed the output of the nation's hydropower plants (6.0%). In fact, solar is now producing more electricity than hydropower, biomass, and geothermal combined. [2]

Wind continues as the renewable energy leader in 2025:

Wind turbines across the U.S. produced more than one-eighth (12.6%) of U.S. electricity in the first four months of 2025.

Their output was 5.9% greater than the year before and more than double that produced by the nation's hydropower plants.

In April alone, wind provided almost a seventh (13.9%) of the nation's electricity supply - essentially equal to the share provided by coal.

Wind + solar are now one-fifth of total U.S. electrical generation - out-producing coal and nuclear power:  

During the first third of 2025, electrical generation by wind plus utility-scale and small-scale solar provided over a fifth (20.3%) of the U.S. total, up from 18.5% during the first four months of 2024. In just the month of April, solar plus wind accounted for almost one-fourth (24.6%) of U.S. electrical output.

During the first four months of this year, the combination of wind and solar provided 20.2% more electricity than did coal, and 13.8% more than the nation's nuclear power plants. In April alone, the disparity increased significantly when solar + wind out-produced coal and nuclear power by 77.1% and 40.2% respectively.

Electrical output by the mix of all renewables is closing in on natural gas:

The mix of all renewables (i.e., wind and solar plus hydropower, biomass and geothermal) produced 10.3% more electricity in January-April than they did a year ago (9.7% more in April alone) and provided over a quarter (27.7%) of total U.S. electricity production compared to 26.3% twelve months earlier.

Electrical generation by the combination of all renewables in just the month of April reached a new record and provided almost a third (32.8%) of total U.S. electrical generation. Moreover, renewables are now approaching the share provided by natural gas (35.1%) whose electrical output actually dropped by 4.4% during the month.  

For perspective, five years ago (i.e., April 2020), the mix of renewables provided 24.4% of total electrical generation while natural gas accounted for 38.8%. [3] A decade ago (i.e., April 2015), renewables provided a mere 16.7% of total generation while natural gas provided (31.5%); most of the balance was accounted for by coal (30.3%) and nuclear power (20.4%). [4]

Consequently, the mix of renewables has further strengthened its position as the second largest source of electrical generation, behind only natural gas - with the gap closing rapidly.

"Solar is the now the fastest-growing major source of electricity and is generating more than hydropower, biomass, and geothermal combined while wind plus solar provide more electricity than either coal or nuclear power and the mix of all renewables is nearly matching the output of natural gas," noted the SUN DAY Campaign's executive director Ken Bossong. "Yet, the Trump Administration and the Republican Congress are seeking to pull the rug out from underneath renewables in favor of dirtier and more expensive fossil fuel and nuclear technologies. What are they thinking?"

Source:  EIA released its latest "Electric Power Monthly" report on June 25, 2025. 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") as well as Table ES1.B ("Total Electric Power Industry Summary Statistics, Year-to-Date 2025 and 2024").

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 28,130 gigawatthours (GWh) in January-April 2025 and 8,828-GWh in April alone. Utility-scale solar totaled 81,409-GWh for the first third and 26,612-GWH in just April.

[2] In January-April 2025, wind produced 179,473-GWh (12.6%) of total U.S. electrical generation while utility-scale and small-scale solar combined produced 109,539-GWh (7.7%), hydropower produced 84,972-GWh (6.0%), biomass produced 14,938-GWh (1.0%), and geothermal produced 5,362-GWh (0.4%). In April alone, wind produced 45,731-GWh while coal produced 45,839-GWh.

[3] U.S. Energy Information Administration, "Electric Power Monthly" (June 2020) https://www.eia.gov/electricity/monthly/archive/june2020.pdf

[4] U.S. Energy Information Administration, "Electric Power Monthly" (June 2015) https://www.eia.gov/electricity/monthly/archive/june2015.pdf

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.