Solar drives U.S. electricity generation growth through 2027

The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) has released its Short-Term Energy Outlook projecting U.S. electricity generation growth driven by utility-scale solar through 2027.

• Main announcement: The EIA forecasts U.S. electricity generation to grow 1.1% in 2026 and 2.6% in 2027 to 4,423 BkWh in 2027, with utility-scale solar rising from 290 BkWh in 2025 to 424 BkWh by 2027 and almost 70 GW of new solar capacity scheduled to come online in 2026–2027.
• Additional details and context: The EIA expects the share of dispatchable sources (natural gas, coal, nuclear) to fall from 75% in 2025 to about 72% in 2027; battery capacity in ERCOT is planned to expand from about 15 GW in 2025 to 37 GW by end-2027; coal-fired generation is forecast to decline to 661 BkWh in 2027 due to planned retirements. For regional notes, the report highlights growth patterns in ERCOT, MISO, and PJM, and states regional natural gas generation increases partly respond to growing data center electricity demand.