US Power Grid Adds Record 86 GW Clean Energy in 2026

The United States is adding a record-breaking 86 gigawatts of new power capacity to its grid in 2026, the largest expansion since 2002. If you're wondering what that means for your neighborhood, it's enough clean energy to power roughly 65 million homes.

Solar power is leading the charge, making up more than half of all new capacity coming online this year. Developers are installing 43.4 gigawatts of solar panels, a 60% jump from last year and nearly matching the record-setting installations of 2024 and 2025.

Texas is the undisputed champion of this energy revolution, hosting 40% of all new solar projects. The Lone Star State's Tehuacana Creek Solar project alone will generate 837 megawatts when it switches on, making it the largest solar farm launching in 2026.

But solar isn't the only star of the show. Battery storage is growing even faster, with 24 gigawatts planned for this year compared to 15 gigawatts in 2025. These giant batteries solve renewable energy's biggest challenge: storing sunshine and wind for when the sky is dark or the air is still.

Wind energy is making a comeback too, with 11.8 gigawatts planned for 2026, more than double last year's additions. New Mexico's SunZia Wind project will become the largest onshore wind farm in American history when it begins operation, stretching across 3,650 megawatts of capacity.

The momentum isn't limited to massive projects in wide-open spaces. States from Michigan to Rhode Island are joining the clean energy buildout, with offshore wind farms finally overcoming delays to begin spinning off the coasts of Massachusetts and Rhode Island.

Even in states like Oklahoma, battery storage projects are moving forward, including OGE's $394 million Frontier Energy Storage Project near Ponca City. These local investments mean communities across America will see cleaner air and more reliable power.

The Ripple Effect

This historic expansion touches every corner of American life. Cleaner electricity means lower emissions from the cars we're plugging in and the homes we're heating. Battery storage makes the grid more resilient during extreme weather, protecting communities when they need power most.

The jobs created by these projects spread economic opportunity to rural communities that host the installations. Construction teams, maintenance workers, and engineers are building careers in energy that won't run out or warm the planet.

Perhaps most important, this growth proves that America can move fast when the economics and technology align. The five-year explosion in battery storage, growing from almost nothing to over 40 gigawatts, shows how quickly we can adopt solutions that once seemed impossibly expensive or far away.

The clean energy transformation isn't coming someday; it's happening right now, one solar panel and battery at a time.