Solar and storage still dominate US power plant construction

Solar and battery storage remain the biggest part of new power plant construction in the U.S. this year, even as federal policy has turned against renewables. Between January and June, solar and storage together made up more than two-thirds of all new electric capacity added nationwide, and solar, storage, and wind combined accounted for 90 percent of everything built. This comes despite the Trump administration phasing out clean-energy tax credits, freezing permitting, and adding tariffs that raise solar costs.

Texas led all states in new power plant construction, driven largely by solar and storage. New Mexico came in second, thanks mostly to the completion of the SunZia wind project, now the largest wind farm in the country. Arizona ranked third, continuing its own solar-plus-storage buildout. This pattern of renewables dominating new construction has held for several years running.

None of this changes electricity choices for an individual home, but it does show where the grid is headed: more of the power reaching homes is likely to come from solar and batteries rather than fossil fuels, even with higher costs from tariffs and reduced federal incentives. There is a possible wrinkle — tech companies including Amazon and OpenAI have floated plans for massive natural-gas plants to power data centers, which could shift the balance if they get built. For now, though, solar and storage remain the default choice for new power generation across most of the country.