HIGHLIGHTS
U.S. EIA DATA CONFIRM TRUMP HAS FAILED TO REVERSE THE CLEAN ENERGY TRANSITION:
- NEW SOLAR, WIND AND BATTERY CAPACITY ADDITIONS SWAMPED FOSSIL FUELS AND NUCLEAR POWER IN 2025 AND ARE PROJECTED TO DO SO AGAIN IN 2026
- RENEWABLES ARE NOW PRODUCING 11% MORE POWER THAN A YEAR AGO, AS SOLAR TOPS ONE-SIXTH OF INSTALLED CAPACITY AND SOLAR + WIND ARE 30%
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 over a quarter of U.S. electrical generation in January - 11% more than a year ago - and accounted for over 36% of installed generating capacity. In the past year, solar, wind, and batteries added over 55 gigawatts (GW) of new capacity while the net total from fossil fuels and nuclear was less than 1-GW. Projections for 2026 are even more dramatic.
In 2026, renewable energy sources continue to set new electrical generation records:
EIA's latest monthly "Electric Power Monthly" report (with data through January 31, 2026), reveals that renewable energy sources continue to expand their share of U.S. electricity.
Electrical generation by utility-scale (i.e., >1-megawatt (MW)) solar thermal and photovoltaic expanded by 16.4% while that from "estimated" small-scale (e.g., rooftop) solar PV systems rose by 12.1% in January compared to the same month in 2025. [1] The combination of utility-scale and small-scale solar increased by 15.3% while wind-generated electricity grew by 1.9% and geothermal power output was up by 2.0%. Significantly, electricity from the nation's hydropower dams also rose by 30.2%. [2]
Together, electrical generation by renewable energy sources (including biomass) in January was 11.5% more than a year earlier and provided more than a quarter (25.1%) of the nation's total. Meanwhile, the power provided in January by U.S. coal and natural gas plants was lower by 12.8% and 3.4% respectively than a year ago.
Solar, wind and battery storage dominated capacity additions during the first 12 full months of the Trump Administration:
For the period February 1, 2025 - January 31, 2026, utility-scale solar capacity grew by 27,110.9 megawatts (MW) while an additional 6,305.6-MW was provided by small-scale solar. Solar now accounts for over a sixth (16.75%) of installed U.S. generating capacity. [3]
In addition, explosive growth was experienced by utility-scale battery storage, which added 15,788.8-MW of new capacity.
Wind also made a strong showing, adding 6,016.3-MW. Wind plus solar capacity is now almost 30% of the U.S. total - 29.24%.
Taken together, over the 12-month period, solar, wind and battery capacity ballooned by 55,221.6-MW.
Consequently, by the end of January 2026, renewables were 33.5% of utility-scale capacity (not including storage). Adding estimated small-scale solar capacity, renewables' share of total generating capacity was 36.6%.
On the other hand, natural gas and nuclear power capacity increased by only 4,191,5-MW and 32.4-MW respectively while that of coal and petroleum coke & liquids (plus "other gases") fell by 2,941.5-MW and 324.6-MW respectively. Thus, net capacity growth by fossil fuels and nuclear power combined was a mere 957.8-MW - less than 2% of that reported for renewables and batteries.
Notwithstanding the anti-renewables policies of the Trump Administration, even greater growth is projected for solar, wind, and batteries during the coming year:
EIA foresees continued strong solar growth, with even more utility-scale solar capacity - 41,552.7-MW - being added by the end of January 2027. (EIA does not provide a projection for new small-scale solar capacity but the SUN DAY Campaign estimates it will be about 6,000-MW. [4])
EIA also notes that planned battery capacity additions over the next 12 months total 22,713.0-MW - an increase of 43.9%.
Planned wind capacity additions in the coming year: 9,840.7-MW (on-shore) plus 4,155.0-MW (off-shore) would more than double those of the past year.
Should EIA's forecasts come to fruition, new capacity additions by solar, wind, and batteries during the second year of the Trump Administration would be 60% more than those in its first year.
Meanwhile, forecasted growth for fossil fuels and nuclear power is even bleaker than that experienced last year. Zero growth is currently projected for nuclear power while net fossil fuel capacity is expected to fall by 4,261.3-MW [5]
Thus, during the coming 12 months, renewables and battery storage will account for all net new utility-scale capacity additions.
"EIA's data show that the Trump Administration utterly failed to stop the nation's transition to solar, wind, and battery storage during its first year in office," noted the SUN DAY Campaign's executive director Ken Bossong. "The second year of the Trump Administration is projected to be even more lop-sided in favor clean energy."
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Source:
EIA released its latest "Electric Power Monthly" report on March 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, 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");
Table 6.1 ("Electric Generating Summer Capacity Changes (MW), December 2025 to January 2026");
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 6,051 gigawatt-hours (GWh) in January 2026. Utility-scale solar totaled 17,985-GWh in January 2026.
[2] In January 2026, wind produced 44,434-GWh (11.0%) of total U.S. electrical generation while utility-scale and small-scale solar combined produced 24,036-GWh (5.9%), hydropower produced 27,909-GWh (6.9%), biomass produced 3,993-GWh (1.0%), and geothermal produced 1,417-GWh (<0.35%).
[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] Between February 1, 2025 and January 31, 2026, estimated small-scale solar accounted for 6,305.6-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 ensuing 12 months.
[5] 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.
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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.
