Newly released data from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), reviewed by the Sun Day Campaign, show that wind and solar together made up more than 88% of new electrical generating capacity added in the USA in 2025. Wind accounted for 15.7% of additions, while solar contributed over 72%.
Wind capacity additions totalled 5,763 MW in 2025, representing a 26% increase compared to 2024. This exceeded new natural gas capacity additions, which reached 4,179 MW. Overall, renewable sources dominated new capacity additions. In addition to wind and solar, small contributions came from hydropower (4 MW) and biomass (6 MW), bringing the total share of renewables to 88.4%. Natural gas accounted for 11.4%, with marginal additions from oil and waste heat.
Combined, wind and solar now represent 24.1% of total installed utility-scale generating capacity in the USA. When including hydropower, biomass and geothermal, renewables account for 33.0% of total capacity. The inclusion of small-scale solar installations would increase these shares further.
FERC forecasts continued growth in wind capacity, with “high probability” additions of 19,821 MW expected between 2026 and 2028. However, this is significantly lower than the projected 86,126 MW of new solar capacity over the same period.
Across all renewable technologies, total net additions could reach over 106 GW in the next three years, while capacity from fossil fuels and nuclear is expected to decline overall.
