California solar surged ahead of gas in the first 5 months of 2026

From January through May of this year, solar power beat natural gas as a source of electricity in California on 82% of days, according to federal energy data. This is a big shift for a state where gas has long supplied about 40% of yearly electricity. Large-scale solar generation rose 21% compared with the same months last year, while gas generation fell 60%.

Batteries are a big part of the story. California has built 16 gigawatts of battery storage that charges up on solar power during the day and then supplies electricity in the evening, competing directly with gas after sundown. A large new wind project (SunZia) has also started sending power into California, cutting into gas use overnight too. Notably, solar is pulling ahead even though the state still has more gas plant capacity than utility-scale solar capacity, since gas plants can run any time while solar only works when the sun is out.

The numbers above don't include rooftop solar, since home solar systems do not report production the way big power plants do. Adding rooftop panels in would likely make solar's lead even larger. Gas may pick back up this summer if heat waves push air-conditioning demand higher than solar alone can cover. But so far this year, solar has clearly had the upper hand on California's grid, a sign of how much cleaner and more solar-reliant the state's electricity has become.