The American Clean Power Association (ACP) has reported that 164 utility-scale solar, storage and wind projects became operational in the USA during the second quarter of 2026, adding 17.1 GW of capacity and bringing total clean power capacity to nearly 388 GW. Utility-scale solar accounted for 7.4 GW of the additions, while land-based wind added nearly 5 GW and battery storage 4.7 GW. Land-based wind recorded its strongest second quarter on record, supported by Pattern Energy’s 3.65 GW SunZia Wind project in New Mexico.
The clean power project pipeline also reached a record 205 GW, including 111 GW of utility-scale solar and 56 GW of battery storage. Clean power procurement totalled 14.5 GW, an increase of 23% compared with the second quarter of 2025. Power purchase agreement announcements also reached a record level for the first half of the year.
However, permitting and environmental review delays continued to affect project development. More than 11.6 GW of expected clean power capacity was delayed during the quarter, contributing to a 4% decline in the land-based wind project pipeline.
According to ACP, federal permitting delays and other policy barriers prevented deployment from reaching the levels expected for the quarter, with land-based wind projects particularly affected.
