Renewables Provide More Than 30% of US Electricity

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Washington DC — New data just released by the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), and reviewed by the SUN DAY Campaign, reveal growth of more than 10% in electrical generation by renewable energy sources in the first five months of 2026. Moreover, solar, wind, and battery storage are projected to add about 83.0 gigawatts (GW) of new generating capacity in the U.S. by May 31, 2027 while total fossil fuel and nuclear power capacity will fall by almost 4.7-GW.

Electrical generation by renewables sources grew over 10% and was more than 30% of the U.S. total in the first five months of 2026.

According to the EIA’s latest “Electric Power Monthly” report (with data through May 31, 2026), renewably-generated electricity during the first five months of 2026 was 10.1% greater than in the same period of 2025. The growth was led by utility-scale (i.e., >1 megawatt (MW)) solar (up 21.6%), small-scale solar (i.e., <1-MW) (up 12.8%), hydropower (up 10.8%), and wind (up 4.8%). ¹

By comparison, the electrical output of the nation’s nuclear power and natural gas plants experienced much slower growth — just 1.3% and 2.5% respectively. Electricity produced by U.S. coal facilities fell by 10.9%.

The combination of just wind and solar, including small-scale solar, provided over 22.2% of domestic electrical production.

During the first five months of this year, wind and solar combined produced 57% more electricity than the nation’s coal plants and 26% more than its nuclear reactors. In May alone, solar-generated electricity was greater than that of either coal or wind. ²

The mix of all renewables, including biomass and geothermal, accounted for 30.3% of total U.S. electrical generation during the first five months of 2026 — up from 28.2% a year earlier.

Over the past year, renewable energy capacity increased by almost 45,000-MW.

Between June 1, 2025 and May 31, 2026, the installed capacity of utility-scale solar increased by 27,995.1-MW while that of small-scale solar and wind grew by 6,664.3-MW and 10,252.6-MW respectively. The combined capacity of all renewable energy sources — including hydropower, biomass, and geothermal — expanded by 44,711.8-MW.

In addition, utility-scale battery energy storage capacity increased by 16,551.8-MW. ³

By comparison, coal capacity fell by 2,235.6-MW as nuclear dropped by 27.6-MW. However, natural gas capacity rose by 6,289.0-MW.

Utility-scale renewable energy to add 54-GW of new capacity in the coming year.

As of May 31, 2026, renewable energy’s share of total U.S. utility-scale (i.e., >1-megawatt (MW)) generating capacity was 34.1%. EIA projects this to grow to 37.0% by May 31, 2027. Utility-scale solar will add 43,971.9-MW thereby expanding its share from 13.1% to 16.1% while wind will grow by 9,414.4-MW (including 3,355.0-MW of offshore wind), increasing from 13.4% to 13.6%. The mix of other renewables (i.e., hydropower, biomass, and geothermal) will add 284.2-MW.

The combined net capacity growth of all utility-scale renewable energy sources for the 12-month period (53,666.0-MW) is 41% more than that added during the previous 12 months (38,047.5-MW).

Meanwhile, EIA projects no new generating capacity by nuclear power and a net decline of 4,685.0-MW in fossil fuel capacity. ⁴

With the inclusion of new small-scale solar, renewables’ capacity is likely to surpass natural gas by spring 2027 – or sooner.

The figures cited above do not include small-scale solar. ⁵ The estimated capacity of small-scale solar systems grew by 6,664.3-MW during the last year, bringing its total to 62,088.6-MW. EIA does not provide a forecast for the next 12 months for small-scale solar capacity growth but the SUN DAY Campaign assumes it will roughly equal that of the past year (i.e., an additional 6,000-MW or more). ⁶

If small-scale solar does increase by approximately 6,000-MW by June 1, 2027, it will bring renewable energy’s installed capacity up to about 542,096.3-MW. By comparison, natural gas’ generating capacity would total 514,845.1-MW.

Solar power’s share alone would be more than one-fifth (20.3%) of total U.S. capacity.

Battery energy storage is projected to increase by almost 48% by next June:

EIA foresees battery energy storage adding another 23,241.1-MW by June 1, 2027 — an increase of almost 48%, bringing the total up to 72,002.0-MW.

Thus, the combination of utility-scale renewable energy sources and battery energy storage will provide 76,907.1-MW of new clean energy capacity by late-spring 2027. With the inclusion of small-scale solar, that figure could rise close to, or above, 83,000-MW.

“Notwithstanding all the roadblocks erected by the Trump Administration, the growth of solar, wind, and battery storage is actually accelerating,” noted the SUN DAY Campaign’s executive director Ken Bossong. “proving once again that one cannot stop an idea whose time has come.”

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Sources:

EIA released its latest “Electric Power Monthly” report on July 23, 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, 2026 and 2025”);

Table ES1.B (“Total Electric Power Industry Summary Statistics, Year-to-Date 2026 and 2025”);

Table 1.1.A (“Net Generation from Renewable Sources”); and

Table 6.1 (“Electric Generating Summer Capacity Changes (MW), April 2026 to May 2026”).

Notes:

¹ In January-May 2026, wind produced 226,653 gigawatt-hours (GWh) – 12.5% of total U.S. electrical generation – while utility-scale and small-scale solar combined produced 177,786-GWh (9.8%), hydropower produced 122,525-GWh (6.7%), biomass produced 18,243-GWh (1.0%), and geothermal produced 6,515-GWh (0.36%).

² In January-May 2026, the mix of wind and solar, including small-scale solar, produced 404,439-GWh while nuclear power generated 320,105-GWh and coal provided 257,389-GWh. In May 2026 alone, utility-scale and small-scale solar generated 47,147-GWh. Coal generated 45,119-GWh while wind generated 41,157-GWh. Solar and wind combined generated 88,304-GWh. Nuclear power generated 65,001-GWh.

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 in the “Electric Power Monthly” report.

⁴ Capacity factors for fossil fuels and nuclear power are generally higher than for solar and wind. For 2025, EIA reported 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 were 34.2% and 24.4% respectively. See Tables 6.07.A and 6.07.B. Capacity factors for small-scale solar systems (10%-25%.) are usually lower than for utility-scale solar.

⁵ 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 41,973-GWh in January-May 2026. Utility-scale solar totaled 135,813-GWh for the same period.

⁶ Between June 1, 2025 and May 31, 2026, estimated small-scale solar accounted for 6,664.3-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 during the coming 12 months.

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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.