HIGHLIGHTS
- TRUMP HAS NOT STOPPED CLEAN ENERGY! BY THE END OF HIS FIRST 18 MONTHS IN OFFICE:
- FOSSIL FUELS + NUCLEAR CAPACITY GREW BY JUST 0.3%
BUT
- *BATTERY ENERGY STORAGE DOUBLED
- *UTILITY-SCALE SOLAR CAPACITY BALLOONED BY 33%
- *WIND ENERGY CAPACITY EXPANDED BY 8%
- *RENEWABLES' SHARE OF U.S. ELECTRICAL GENERATION INCREASED FROM 22.3% TO 29.0%
New data released by the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), and reviewed by the SUN DAY Campaign, confirm that the Trump Administration failed in its efforts to stop renewable energy during its first eighteen months in office. Instead, the data reveal very strong and continuing growth by solar, wind, and battery storage but anemic growth by fossil fuels and nuclear power.
Moreover, renewables and battery storage are projected to add about 82.7 gigawatts (GW) of new generating capacity in the U.S. during the coming year while total fossil fuel and nuclear power capacity will fall by more than 1.4-GW.
Electrical generation by renewables sources grew almost 11% and was more than 29% of the U.S. total in the first seven months of 2026.
According to the EIA's latest "Electric Power Monthly" report (with data through July 31, 2026), renewably-generated electricity during the first seven months of 2026 was 10.7% greater than in the same period of 2025. The growth was led by utility-scale solar (up 22.0%), small-scale solar (up 12.6%), hydropower (up 9.0%), and wind (up 5.9%).
By comparison, the electrical output of the nation's natural gas and nuclear power plants experienced much slower growth - just 1.8% and 1.5% respectively. Electricity produced by U.S. coal facilities fell by 10.2%.
The combination of just wind and solar, including small-scale solar, provided 21.6% of domestic electrical production. Moreover, they produced 49% more electricity than the nation's coal plants and 26% more than its nuclear reactors.
In July, for the second month in a row, solar-generated electricity was the leading renewable energy source for the month. In fact, solar produced almost as much electricity as wind and hydropower combined.
The mix of all renewables, including biomass and geothermal, accounted for over 29.0% of total U.S. electrical generation - up from 26.8% a year earlier. Eighteen months earlier, in January 2025 - i.e., shortly after the start of the second Trump Administration, renewables accounted for a 22.3% share of U.S. electrical generation.
Over the last 18 months, renewable energy + battery capacity has increased by over 88,700-MW.
During the first one and one-half years of the second Trump Administration (i.e., between February 1, 2025 and July 31, 2026, the installed capacity of utility-scale solar increased by 32.7% (41,051.6 megawatts (MW)) while that of small-scale solar and wind grew by 17.0% (9,112.4-MW) and 8.0% (12,195.4-MW, including 800-MW of offshore wind) respectively.
The combined capacity of all renewable energy sources - including hydropower, biomass, and geothermal - expanded by 14.6% (62,092.0-MW).
In addition, utility-scale battery energy storage capacity doubled, adding 26,629.5-MW.
Thus, renewables plus battery storage have grown by over 88,700-MW.
By comparison, coal capacity fell by 2.4% (-4,131.8-MW) as nuclear power added just 0.8% (800.6-MW). Natural gas capacity rose by 1.5% (7,561.5-MW). The combined generating capacity of all fossil fuels - including oil and "other" gases - plus nuclear power rose by a mere 0.3% (2,641.0-MW).
Renewable energy + batteries to add almost 83-GW of new capacity in the coming year.
EIA projects that over the next year (i.e., through July 31, 2027) utility-scale solar will add 43,558.0-MW while wind will grow by 9,481.8-MW (including 3,355.0-MW of offshore wind. The mix of other renewables (i.e., hydropower, biomass, and geothermal) will add 193.6-MW.
In addition, EIA foresees battery energy storage adding another 23,428.9-MW by August 1, 2027
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 equal or exceed the roughly 6,000-MW that have been added on average during each of the past five years.
Thus, the combination of utility-scale renewable energy sources and battery energy storage will provide 76,662.3-MW of new clean energy capacity by mid-summer 2027. With the inclusion of small-scale solar, that figure could rise to about 82,700-MW.
Meanwhile, for the same timeframe, EIA projects no new generating capacity by nuclear power and a net decline of 1,452.7-MW in fossil fuel capacity.
"Over the last 18 months, the Trump Administration has used every conceivable trick to delay, hinder, or cancel new clean energy projects," noted the SUN DAY Campaign's executive director Ken Bossong. "Yet, while fossil fuels and nuclear power have added just 2.6-GW of net new capacity, renewables and battery storage have grown by 88.7-GW. Clearly, the White House has bet on the wrong horse."
Sources:
EIA released its latest "Electric Power Monthly" report, with data through July 31, 2026, on September 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"); and
Table 6.1 ("Electric Generating Summer Capacity Changes (MW), June 2026 to July 2026").
Comparable data can be found in the corresponding tables for January 2025 at:
https://www.eia.gov/electricity/monthly/archive/march2025.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.
