U.S. solar and storage market report: 2026 state rankings and forecasts

This report provides a comprehensive breakdown of the current U.S. solar and battery storage landscape based on the latest data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). We examine state-level performance across four key metrics: generation share, cumulative capacity, future installation pipelines, and operational battery storage.

Solar share of total generation 

This metric tracks the percentage of a state’s total in-state electricity generation sourced from solar (utility-scale and estimated small-scale). 

1. California: 32.1% 
2. Nevada: 25.4% 
3. Hawaii: 21.2% 
4. Massachusetts: 16.4% 
5. Arizona: 14.4% 
6. New Mexico: 12.7% 
7. Utah: 11.8% 
8. Florida: 10.3% 
9. Colorado: 9.9% 
10. Maine: 9.7% 

Cumulative solar capacity 

Ranked by total installed megawatts (MW) of utility-scale solar capacity currently in operation. 

1. California: ~55,000 MW 
2. Texas: ~51,900 MW 
3. Florida: ~20,100 MW 
4. North Carolina: ~9,800 MW 
5. Arizona: ~8,700 MW 
6. Nevada: ~8,200 MW 
7. Georgia: ~7,500 MW 
8. New York: ~6,800 MW 
9. Virginia: ~6,200 MW 
10. New Jersey: ~5,100 MW 

3-year installation forecast (2026–2028) 

Based on the EIA’s Preliminary Monthly Electric Generator Inventory, these states have the largest volume of utility-scale solar projects currently in the active three-year development queue. 

1. Texas: ~38,000 MW 
2. Arizona: ~5,200 MW 
3. California: ~4,800 MW 
4. Michigan: ~4,300 MW 
5. Ohio: ~3,900 MW 
6. Indiana: ~3,200 MW 
7. Florida: ~2,800 MW 
8. Nevada: ~2,500 MW 
9. Virginia: ~2,100 MW 
10. Arkansas: ~1,800 MW 

Percentage capacity growth forecast (2025–2026)  

While established markets lead in volume, these “emerging” states are seeing the largest relative surge in their existing solar footprint, often doubling or tripling their capacity from a small baseline. 

1. Kentucky: 251.6% 
2. Missouri: 111.6% 
3. Kansas: 103.5% 
4. Indiana: 84.2% 
5. Ohio: 69.8% 
6. Illinois: 63.6% 
7. Arkansas: 62.4% 
8. Louisiana: 60.7% 
9. Mississippi: 49.6% 
10. Iowa: 47.2% 

Operational battery storage capacity 

The U.S. utility-scale battery fleet has now surpassed 40 GW of power capacity. The following states lead in operational nameplate capacity (MW). 

1. California: ~18.5 GW 
2. Texas: ~12.2 GW 
3. Arizona: ~3.1 GW 
4. Nevada: ~1.8 GW 
5. Florida: ~0.9 GW 
6. Hawaii: ~0.65 GW 
7. New Mexico: ~0.55 GW 
8. Colorado: ~0.42 GW 
9. Oregon: ~0.38 GW 
10. Massachusetts: ~0.35 GW 

Methodology 

All data is sourced from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). Readers should note the following parameters regarding these figures: 

• EIA inventory data primarily tracks facilities with a nameplate capacity of 1 megawatt (MW) or greater.
• These rankings do not include “behind-the-meter” (BTM) assets, such as residential rooftop solar or small-scale commercial battery systems, unless specifically noted as an EIA estimate for total generation share.
• Storage rankings are based on Power Capacity (MW), which measures the maximum instantaneous discharge rate, rather than Energy Capacity (MWh), which measures the total duration of the discharge.
• Installation forecasts are based on developer-reported timelines in the EIA-860M database and are subject to change based on supply chain, permitting, or interconnection delays.

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