Renewable electricity generation has surpassed levels from previous years in every month so far this year, based on data through June. Both hydroelectric and nonhydroelectric renewables have contributed to this trend, but in different ways. After a lengthy West Coast drought, hydro generation has increased and is now closer to historical levels. Nonhydro renewable generation continues to increase year-over-year and has exceeded hydro generation in each month since February 2016.
Renewable electricity sources include both conventional hydro and nonhydro sources such as wind, geothermal, biomass, and solar. The data shown here represent generation from only utility-scale facilities whose capacity exceeds 1 megawatt (MW) as well as distributes solar photovoltaic (PV) capacity (ie rooftop solar), another source of nonhydro renewables. Hydro and wind facilities under 1 MW, which are not included here, would contribute a small amount of generation, but they are much less common than small PV systems.
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July 27, 2026
