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Solar power will lead electricity generation growth in the next two years, according to new data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

What’s going on: Electricity generation from solar power totaled approximately 4,260 billion kilowatt hours in 2025, and that number is expected to grow by 1.1% this year and by 2.6% in 2027, the EIA says in its latest “Short-Term Energy Outlook” projection.

• “[U]tility-scale solar is the fastest-growing source of electricity generation in the United States, increasing from 290 BkWh in 2025 to 424 BkWh by 2027. Almost 70 gigawatts (GW) of new solar generating capacity projects are scheduled to come online in 2026 and 2027, which represents a 49% increase in U.S. solar operating capacity compared with the end of 2025.”
• Taken together, the three main dispatchable sources of generation—natural gas, coal and nuclear—are expected to account for 72% of total generation in 2027 compared to about 75% in 2025.

The data center factor: Driven in part by growing electricity demand from data centers, natural gas-fired generation is forecast to rise by 2027 in areas of Texas and the mid-Atlantic.

• But the increase in natural gas generation is expected to grow more slowly than the increase in U.S. electricity generation overall.

Where it will happen: A large percentage of the new capacity will come online in Texas, with “[i]ncreasing amounts of battery storage capacity help to support the fluctuations in solar output during the day.”