Renewable Energy Just Hit 30% of America's Electricity Generation
4 63America generated 10.06% more energy with renewables in the first four months of 2026 than it did in the same period the year before. That's according to new figures from America's Energy Information Administration, cited in this report from Electrek: The growth was led by utility-scale solar (+21.3%), hydropower (+15.7%), small-scale solar
In April alone, wind and solar each produced more electricity than US coal plants, while the combination of solar and wind produced 57.0% more electricity than nuclear power.
The mix of all renewables, including biomass and geothermal, accounted for 30.0% of total US electrical generation during the first third of 2026 — up from 27.8% a year earlier... EIA reported that, in April, utility-scale solar capacity surpassed wind capacity for the first time (160,208.1 MW vs. 160,100.6 MW). Further, utility-scale battery energy storage capacity increased by 17,703.5 MW, or 58.1%. Nuclear added just 18.4 MW. The combined capacity growth of all utility-scale renewable energy sources for the 12-month period (55,980.3 MW) is two-thirds more (i.e., 67.6%) than that added during the previous 12 months (33,392.0 MW).
"EIA projects no new nuclear generating capacity and a net decline of 5,200.5 MW in fossil fuel capacity."
4 comments
Re:For how much longer? (Score: 5, Interesting)
by JoshuaZ ( 1134087 ) on Saturday June 27, 2026 @09:55PM (#66213592)
That's part of what is great about this though. This is happening from sheer economics, despite the Trump admin's attempts otherwise.
Re:For how much longer? (Score: 5, Insightful)
by Casandro ( 751346 ) on Sunday June 28, 2026 @06:19AM (#66213862)
Exactly that's why it's also on the rise in Germany, despite the current government trying its best to stop it. I just makes so much sense that it cannot be stopped. It's just so affordable that at least home owners can simply invest in it.
It's a microeconomic decision, it will rise from the bottom up. It's not like macroeconomic decisions you can just dictate from above to suit the needs of some big companies. (like it's done in Germany with cars)
Can we please stop using MW for storage capacity? (Score: 5, Informative)
by SubmergedInTech ( 7710960 ) on Saturday June 27, 2026 @10:49PM (#66213626)
MW is a unit of power. MWh is a unit of capacity - that is, power * time.
If it helps, think of it this way:
- Power is how frequently I can give a f*ck.
- Capacity is how many f*cks I have to give.
Re:Can we please stop using MW for storage capacit (Score: 5, Informative)
by beelsebob ( 529313 ) on Sunday June 28, 2026 @12:02AM (#66213654)
Both power, and energy are relevant here. The amount of energy the storage can store is one relevant metric, but the rate at which it can supply that energy is another very important metric. For most grid operators it's *far* more relevant to say that a battery bank can provide 100MW for 15 minutes, than to say that it has a capacity of 25MWh.