Friday, Jul 24, 2026 The claims desk. Receipts included. POWERED BY LENZ ↗
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SCIENCE

The Claim

At least 90% of new electricity generating capacity planned for addition in the United States in 2026 is from solar, wind, or battery storage.

Verified by Lenz ·

The Short Version

This claim is true. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration's February 2026 data, solar (51%), battery storage (28%), and wind (14%) together account for 93% of the 86 GW of planned utility-scale capacity additions in 2026 — comfortably exceeding the 90% threshold. These figures are corroborated by multiple independent energy publications. The data reflects planned additions as currently reported and could shift slightly as projects are updated, but the 3-percentage-point margin above 90% makes a drop below that threshold unlikely.

Caveats

  • The 93% figure comes from EIA's preliminary monthly generator inventory (EIA-860M), which is subject to updates as projects are delayed, cancelled, or reclassified throughout the year.
  • The statistic covers utility-scale planned capacity additions (gross), not net capacity change after retirements or small-scale distributed generation like rooftop solar.
  • Planned capacity additions measure generating potential, not actual electricity produced — solar and wind have lower capacity factors than natural gas, so their share of actual generation will be smaller than their share of new capacity.

The Receipts

  1. Today in Energy - U.S. Energy Information Administration ...

    U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA)

  2. New U.S. electric generating capacity expected to reach a record high in 2026 - U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA)

    U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA)

  3. EIA: US to add record 43.4GW of new utility-scale solar PV capacity in 2026 – PV Tech

    PV Tech

  4. US utilities plan record 86 GW grid expansion for 2026 - Modern Power Systems

    Modern Power Systems

  5. US Forecast to Add 43.4 GW of Large-Scale Solar Capacity in 2026 - Mercom India

    Mercom India

  6. Renewables Were 26% of U.S. Electrical Generation and 36% of ...

    Energy Central

  7. EIA: 62% more renewable energy capacity is coming in 2026 | Electrek

    Electrek

  8. Chart: US to overwhelmingly build clean power in 2026

    Canary Media

  9. U.S. Power Capacity Additions To Hit Record 86 GW In 2026 Led By Solar And Storage

    SolarQuarter

  10. EIA: 99%+ of new US capacity in 2026 will be solar, wind + storage | Electrek

    Electrek

+ 1 more sources — see the full list on Lenz

Filed Under

lithium-ion batterysolarUnited Stateswind

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