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REPORT: U.S. Adds 10 GWh of New Energy Storage Capacity in First Quarter, Marking Largest Q1 on Record

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. energy storage industry installed 9.7 gigawatt-hours (GWh) of new capacity in the first quarter of 2026, the strongest first quarter in the sector’s history. According to the U.S....

What do these milestones mean?

    • In 2025, a new solar project was installed every 59 seconds, and solar and storage combined to provide 79% of all new energy capacity added to the U.S. grid.In 2025, a new solar project was installed every 59 seconds, and solar and storage combined to provide 79% of all new energy capacity added to the U.S. grid.

    • There is enough solar installed in the United States to power over 50 million homes, At this rate, there will be enough solar capacity to power 100 million homes by 2034.
      • For perspective, 50 million homes comprise one-third of all U.S. households and is greater than the number of homes in 35 U.S. states combined.
    • Current projections show that this momentum will continue. Every year from now through 2030, the solar industry is expected to install an additional 40 GW of capacity.
      • Over the next 5 years, the U.S. solar market is expected to nearly double.

Residential Solar

  • 97% of all solar installations in the United States are on residential rooftops.
  • By 2030, there are expected to be over eight million residential solar systems in the U.S.
  • Today, there are over 47 GW of residential solar installed in the United States.

 

Energy Storage

  • Serving as a natural partner to solar is energy storage, which now has enough capacity in one charge to deploy power to 5.3 million American homes for a day. That’s more than the number of homes in New York City and Chicago combined.
  • A growing number of residential solar adopters are choosing to install batteries as well, allowing them to keep their lights on even if the grid goes down. In the first three months of 2026, 45% of new residential solar installations included a residential battery.

 

Solar in the States

  • Between 2020 and today, the number of states and territories with over 100,000 installations more than doubled from 6 to 15.
    • Over the same time frame, the number of states with over one gigawatt of solar capacity doubled from 18 to 39.
  • In 2025, the top 10 states for solar installations touched both the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, America’s northern and southern borders, and three of the five Great Lakes.
  • America has enough solar installations to cover every residential rooftop in New York and New Jersey.

Check out the latest state-level solar and storage data with the interactive map below: