REPORT: Clean Power Capacity Grows to Power 80 Million Homes in Q1, Despite Slowdown in the Wind Sector

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REPORT: Clean Power Capacity Grows to Power 80 Million Homes in Q1, Despite Slowdown in the Wind Sector

• Cumulative clean power capacity hit 370 GW in Q1 2026, enough to power nearly 80 million homes.

• The pipeline for clean power projects rose by 6% compared to Q1 2025, driven primarily by a 13% growth in the solar pipeline and 8% growth in the battery storage pipeline.

• Due to ongoing federal delays, the pipeline for land-based wind has stagnated, and offshore wind has plummeted by 35%.

WASHINGTON, D.C., June 2, 2026 - The American Clean Power Association (ACP) released its Q1 2026 Clean Power Quarterly Market Report today, showcasing continued steady development in the solar and storage sectors, along with a slowing pipeline for wind projects due to ongoing federal pushback and delays.

Developers brought 6.4 gigawatts (GW) of new utility-scale solar, wind, and energy storage online in Q1 2026 - pushing the cumulative clean power capacity in the US to over 370 GW. That's enough electricity to power nearly 80 million homes across the country.

The pipeline for clean power projects rose by 6% compared to Q1 2025, driven primarily by a 13% growth in the solar pipeline and 8% growth in the battery storage pipeline. In contrast, the pipeline for land-based wind has stagnated, and offshore wind has plummeted by 35%. Early-and-mid-stage land-based wind projects have struggled to secure approvals from federal regulators, and offshore wind continues to weather permitting roadblocks and uncertainty.

"Clean energy projects are the fastest to deploy as American electricity demand rises and energy prices increase," said ACP Chief Policy Officer JC Sandberg. "Unfortunately, American families are footing the bill for the politicized bureaucracy that has halted wind projects aimed at powering millions of homes and keeping costs low. Americans need policies that speed clean energy deployment, not delay it."

Q1 2026 Toplines:

• Solar Shines: More than 3.6 GW of utility-scale solar capacity began operations in the first quarter, pushing cumulative operating capacity to 161.1 GW, enough to power 590,000 homes.

• A Slow Quarter for Capacity Installations: Year-over-year, overall clean energy quarterly capacity installations were down by 17%, compared to the 7,695 MW of capacity energized in Q1 2025. Q1 installations also fell by 66% compared to Q4 2025, which can generally be expected as first quarters are typically much slower than fourth quarters.

• Delays Add Up: Over 6.4 GW of clean power capacity initially expected to become operational during Q1 were delayed, adding to the 53 GW backlog of delayed projects. Project developers attribute project delays to lengthy permitting processes, backlogged interconnection queues, and fluctuating prices for key project equipment.

• Texas Continues to Dominate: With over 96.4 GW of clean power projects in operation, Texas is on the verge of becoming the first state to cross the 100 GW threshold. Texas is home to 26% of online clean power capacity in the U.S. and has more operational capacity than the next four states combined.

Explore the full report for more data and analysis.

The American Clean Power Association (ACP) is the leading voice of today's clean energy industry, representing utility-scale energy storage, wind, solar, and transmission companies. ACP is committed to meeting America's energy and national security goals and building our economy with fast-growing, low-cost, and reliable domestic power.

Learn more at cleanpower.org, and follow ACP on LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook, and X.