Solar, wind, and battery storage are on track to supply nearly all new electricity capacity added in the United States in 2026, highlighting how decisively the power sector is moving away from fossil fuels. Recent federal energy data shows that renewables are no longer an emerging segment of the grid, but the primary source shaping future generation growth.
Data from the US Energy Information Administration, assessed by the SUN DAY Campaign, shows solar continuing to expand faster than any other electricity source. By November 2025, output from large solar projects was up 33.9% compared with the previous year, while electricity from small-scale installations such as rooftop systems increased 11%.
During November alone, solar accounted for 7.2% of total U.S. power generation, and across the first eleven months of the year its contribution rose to a level approaching one tenth of national output.
Wind energy added further weight to the shift, even though its growth rate remained slower than solar. Electricity generated from wind rose 2% in November compared with the same month a year earlier, and across the first eleven months of 2025 it supplied 10.1% of total U.S. generation.
When combined, wind and solar produced 19% of the country’s electricity during that period, delivering significantly more power than coal and outpacing nuclear generation by a clear margin.
Including other renewable sources such as hydropower, biomass, and geothermal, clean energy supplied 25.7% of U.S. electricity through November 2025. Over the same timeframe, power generation from natural gas declined by 3.7% compared with the prior year, reinforcing a gradual but consistent rebalancing of the grid away from fossil fuels. Coal’s role continued to shrink as additional capacity was taken offline rather than replaced.
Between January and November 2025, utility-scale solar capacity increased by more than 22,000 megawatts, while small-scale solar added over 5,400 megawatts. Wind capacity expanded by just over 4,200 megawatts and battery storage grew rapidly, rising 49.4% during the year and adding more than 13,000 megawatts to help manage variable renewable output.
Over the same period, gas capacity additions were modest, nuclear capacity saw minimal growth, and petroleum-based generation continued to contract.
Looking ahead, EIA projections point to roughly 69,500 megawatts of new utility-scale renewable and battery storage capacity being added in 2026. Additional growth from small-scale solar could push that figure higher, while changes in fossil fuel and nuclear capacity are expected to remain limited. Taken together, renewables and storage are forecast to account for more than 99% of net new capacity next year.
By late 2026, total renewable capacity, including small-scale solar, is projected to approach 509,000 megawatts, placing it within reach of natural gas capacity at roughly 514,000 megawatts.
Solar capacity alone is expected to exceed 247,000 megawatts, placing it ahead of wind and coal capacity individually and more than twice the size of the nuclear fleet. The transformation is now structural, with the central challenge shifting from whether solar and wind will dominate new generation to how quickly the broader power system can adapt.
In tandem with this energy generation growth is a growing switch to renewables in the maritime industry. Entities like Vision Marine Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ: VMAR) are spearheading this rapid shift.
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