U.S. renewable electricity generation rose more than 11% in the first quarter of 2026, according to new data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) reviewed by the SUN DAY Campaign — a fresh sign that the clean-energy transition is accelerating despite policy headwinds.
Solar leads the surge
EIA's latest "Electric Power Monthly" report shows generation from renewable sources rose 11.1% during January–March 2026 versus the same period in 2025. Utility-scale solar grew the fastest at 23.9%, followed by hydropower at 21.9%, small-scale solar at 11.9% and wind at 2.1%. Battery storage capacity expanded 8.5% over the period, while coal-fired generation fell 11.4%. Natural gas and nuclear posted marginal gains of 1.1% and 0.9%, respectively.
Renewables top a quarter of supply
Renewable sources — solar, wind, hydropower, biomass and geothermal — accounted for more than 28.6% of total U.S. electricity generation in the quarter. Wind and solar alone contributed over 20% of domestic output, surpassing nuclear generation by 14.3% and coal by 31.1%. The trend builds on the milestone when solar and wind outproduced gas globally for the first time.
A bigger pipeline ahead
The EIA projects that utility-scale solar, wind and battery storage will add more than 80.6 GW of new capacity by March 31, 2027, while fossil and nuclear capacity declines by more than 4.2 GW. Renewables made up 33.6% of total U.S. utility-scale generating capacity as of April 1, 2026, a share EIA expects to reach 36.6% by March 2027. Battery storage capacity grew 17.3 GW over the past year, with another 23.5 GW expected by April 2027 — growth of more than 50%. That storage build-out mirrors record projects worldwide, including China's undersea wind-powered AI data center.
Forecasts point to a longer runway
Longer-term outlooks reinforce the direction of travel. EIA's "Annual Energy Outlook" projects utility-scale solar capacity climbing from 154.5 GW at the end of 2025 to 257.7 GW by 2030, with wind rising from 159 GW to 204.4 GW and offshore wind growing nearly tenfold over the decade. Separately, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission expects utility-scale solar to add more than 86 GW between 2026 and 2028 and wind to contribute nearly 20 GW, while coal and oil capacity decline and no new nuclear capacity is anticipated in that window.
Ken Bossong, Executive Director of the SUN DAY Campaign, said renewables and storage continue to dominate new U.S. capacity additions, reflecting the ongoing momentum of the clean-energy transition.
Reporting based on coverage from SolarQuarter and the SUN DAY Campaign, citing U.S. EIA data.