The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) projects electricity generation in the United States will increase by 25 to 50 percent from 2025 through 2050. The power sector faces significant challenges in meeting this demand increase while keeping energy affordable and reliable. Clean power is expected, and well positioned, to play a central role in meeting this growing demand. This brief provides an overview of clean power capacity through the first quarter of 2026 and complements previous analysis on the state of clean power in Q3 and Q4 2025, as well as on clean energy manufacturing in Q3 and Q4 2025 and Q1 2026.
Key Takeaways
- Clean power capacity in the United States is ramping up significantly. The 222 gigawatts (GW) of clean power capacity currently planned or under construction amounts to roughly one-third of cumulative capacity announced through Q1 2026 (693 GW). Developers added eight GW of operational capacity in Q1 2026 alone.
- At the end of Q1 2026, fossil fuel generation sources accounted for 27 percent of planned capacity, compared to just nine percent at the end 2022, a threefold increase that points to an uptick in fossil fuel generation investment.
- Solar and batteries dominate all other clean technologies, comprising 85 percent of all clean power capacity and presenting an economic opportunity. Developers have announced plans to invest an estimated $377 billion in new clean power capacity through 2031.
- Developers canceled more than eight GW of planned clean energy capacity in Q1 2026. More than half of the canceled capacity—4.7 GW—was for solar projects. All clean technologies had higher cancellation rates than natural gas projects, except for onshore wind.
- Texas leads all states in planned, under construction, and operational clean power capacity, with nearly twice as much capacity as the second-ranked state, California.
Atlas Public Policy thanks the Environmental Defense Fund for its support of this work.
