A new review of recently released data by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), analyzed by the SUNDAY Campaign, shows that solar and wind energy dominated new power capacity additions in the United States during 2025. Together, these two renewable sources contributed more than 88% of all new generating capacity added during the year, highlighting a strong shift toward clean energy.

Solar energy alone accounted for over 72% of the total new capacity added in 2025, making it the leading source by a wide margin. Wind energy followed with nearly 16%, while natural gas contributed only about 11%. Smaller contributions came from hydropower, biomass, oil, and waste heat. This trend reflects the growing importance of renewables in the U.S. energy mix.

The data also shows that solar has been the largest source of new generating capacity for 28 consecutive months, from September 2023 through December 2025. During this period, solar capacity saw significant growth, increasing from about 91.8 gigawatts (GW) to 164.5 GW. No other energy source came close to this level of expansion. Wind capacity grew by around 13.4 GW, while natural gas added only 6.8 GW over the same period.

In December 2025 alone, solar accounted for more than 83% of all new capacity additions. Several major projects contributed to this growth, including large-scale solar installations in Minnesota, Texas, and Maryland. Wind energy also added capacity during the month with a major project in Illinois.

As a result of this rapid expansion, utility-scale solar capacity in the U.S. has now surpassed wind, nuclear, and hydropower in total installed capacity. Solar now represents about 12.2% of the country’s total utility-scale generating capacity, slightly ahead of wind at 11.9%. Nuclear and hydropower account for smaller shares.

When combined, solar and wind now make up nearly a quarter of the total installed utility-scale capacity in the United States. If small-scale solar systems such as rooftop installations are included, this share increases further. Overall, renewable energy sources, including hydropower, biomass, and geothermal, now account for about one-third of the country’s total generating capacity.

Looking ahead, FERC projects continued strong growth for renewables. Between 2026 and 2028, solar capacity alone is expected to increase by over 86 GW, which is more than four times the expected additions from wind. Combined, solar and wind are projected to add around 106 GW of new capacity during this period.

At the same time, fossil fuel-based generation is expected to decline. Coal capacity is projected to drop significantly, while oil is also expected to decrease. Natural gas may see limited growth, but far less compared to renewables. Nuclear power is expected to remain mostly unchanged.

If these projections hold true, solar energy could become the second-largest source of installed generating capacity in the U.S. by 2029, behind only natural gas. Renewables as a whole could approach 40% of total capacity, and even higher if small-scale solar is included.

The findings clearly show that despite policy challenges, renewable energy, especially solar and wind, continues to expand rapidly and play a central role in shaping the future of electricity generation in the United States.

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