Solar and batteries were 91% of new US power capacity in the first quarter, and California's batteries met 36% of demand at one point in July
SEIA data via pv magazine: solar plus storage took a record 91% share of new US generating capacity in Q1 2026. Solar beat coal on monthly generation in May. CAISO batteries discharged a record 12.99 GW on 9 July; ERCOT solar peaked at 35.425 GW the same day.
At one point on 9 July, more than a third of California's power was coming out of batteries. That is the grid a US business now plugs into.
pv magazine reported on 23 July 2026, using Solar Energy Industries Association figures, that solar plus storage made up a record 91% of new US generating capacity added in the first quarter of 2026. Solar generated more electricity than coal in May, a first on a monthly basis, and supplies about 13% of US electricity.
On 9 July, batteries on the CAISO grid in California discharged a record 12.99 GW, about 36% of demand at that moment. CAISO solar hit 23 GW on 10 July. In Texas, ERCOT solar peaked at 35.425 GW on 9 July, and batteries had supplied 20% of evening demand on 13 March.
Analogy: it is a restaurant that cooks most of its food at lunch and keeps it warm for dinner. The warming cabinet is now part of the kitchen, not an extra.
Good: hard, dated records from two of the biggest US grids. Anyone pitching solar with a battery to a board can show that the pairing is mainstream, not a trial.
Bad: these are grid records, not site results. Nothing here says what a commercial customer saves on a bill in either state.
Ugly: the headline share is for new capacity, not total supply. Gas and other sources still carry most of the US system, and the evening peak is where prices bite.
Source: pv magazine, 23 Jul 2026 - solar and storage account for 91% of new US grid capacity. The pv magazine headline says first half; the SEIA share it reports is for Q1 2026.