Renewable energy sources supplied 26% of U.S. electricity generation in 2025 and represented 36% of total installed generating capacity, according to an analysis by the Sun Day Campaign based on final data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
The group said wind and solar alone accounted for 18.9% of total U.S. power generation last year, while overall renewable electricity output increased 9.6% compared with 2024.
Utility-scale solar generation rose 34.5% in 2025 and small-scale systems, including rooftop installations, grew 11.0%. Combined, solar produced just under 9.0% of total U.S. electricity.
Wind generation increased 2.8% year on year and delivered 10.3% of national output, the analysis showed.
According to the Sun Day Campaign, electricity produced by wind and solar exceeded coal generation by 15.7% in 2025 and surpassed nuclear output by 8.7%.
In capacity terms, utility-scale solar expanded by 27,738.4 megawatts (MW) and small-scale solar added 6,277.4 MW. Battery storage capacity grew 58.4% with 15,775.1 MW of new installations.
Wind added 6,173.6 MW in 2025. Planned additions for 2026 include 10,369.0 MW of onshore wind and 1,515.0 MW offshore, the group said. Solar, wind and battery capacity additions projected for 2026 are expected to be 62% higher than last year.
By comparison, natural gas capacity increased by 5,731.5 MW in 2025, nuclear capacity rose by 60.3 MW and coal capacity declined by 4,397.4 MW.
The group said renewables and battery storage together accounted for 55,808.8 MW of new capacity in 2025, compared with 772.7 MW added by fossil fuels and nuclear combined.
For 2026, all net new generating capacity is expected to come from renewables and storage, with utility-scale additions projected at 80,809.2 MW. Small-scale solar installations could add more than 6,000 MW, potentially lifting renewables’ share of total generating capacity to 40% by the end of 2026.
“Dramatic growth by solar, wind, and battery storage is the key take-away of EIA’s 2025 data,” said Ken Bossong, executive director of the Sun Day Campaign.
