Solar News This Week - September 13, 2026

Solar responds to record load demand

U.S. electricity consumption will likely grow 2 percent in 2026 and another 2 percent in 2027, reaching "record levels, according to the Energy Information Administration (EIA) in their latest Short-Term Energy Outlook report.

The growth will be led by the commercial sector (think data centers), which will account for 63 percent of all new demand this year and 56 percent of the increase in 2027.

Generation will need to increase to meet this new demand. Natural gas generation is expected to grow 2 percent this year and another 1 percent in 2027, while coal generation will decline 8 percent and 6 percent, respectively.

EIA projects that solar generation will grow by 21 percent in 2026 and by an additional 18 percent in 2027, while wind generation is set to increase 7 percent this year and 5 percent in 2027.

PJM, the grid covering 13 states from Illinois to New Jersey, will make up nearly 45 percent of the national growth in power demand, however other regions, particularly Texas, will also see significant load demand increases.

Texas demand averaged a record 74.5 GW the week of Aug. 22, 6 percent above the 2023 record and 10 percent above last summer's highest demand week. Texas grid operators forecast that peak load demand will hit 120 GW by 2030 (a 61 percent increase in four years) and will top 154 GW of peak demand by 2035.

US solar can now power 50M homes, Red States lead the boom

The US achieved a significant solar milestone this month: It now has enough installed solar capacity to generate clean electricity equivalent to that used by more than 50 million homes. That's more than one-third of all US households.

The milestone comes after a strong second quarter for US solar. The industry installed 11.4 gigawatts of new solar capacity, according to the latest US Solar Market Insight report from the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) and Wood Mackenzie.

That's a 45 percent jump year-over-year and a 43 percent increase from the first quarter of 2026. Utility-scale solar accounted for 9.6 GWdc of this new capacity – up 61 percent year-over-year – as developers hurried to get projects underway before a July 2026 safe harbor deadline for federal tax credits.

Solar and battery storage together made up 70 percent of all new US power capacity added in the first half of 2026. States that voted for Trump in 2024 accounted for 71 percent of all solar capacity installed in the first half of this year.

Eight of the 10 leading states for new solar installations are considered politically red states. These include: Texas, Florida, Indiana, Ohio, Arizona, Missouri, Arkansas and Utah.

Iran war adds $100 billion in energy costs to US consumers

The Iran war has saddled Americans with a massive energy bill that continues to mount as the conflict drags on.

US consumers have paid an extra $100 billion on gasoline and diesel alone since the war started at the end of February, according to a cost tracker published by The Watson School of International and Public Affairs at Brown University.

That amounts to about $770 per US household – a figure that will likely rise as fuel costs remain high. Goldman Sachs ramped up its December price forecast on Brent crude oil, the global benchmark, by $5, to $85 a barrel. The Wall Street bank expects Brent to average $80 for 2027, up from its prior forecast of $75.

Oil prices topped $104 a barrel this week as expansion of the war threatened oil exports from Saudi Arabia.

DOE to fund ideas for Space Solar

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is seeking proposals to move space-based solar power forward. The agency has launched a $12 million funding program open to research laboratories and companies around the nation.

Space based solar has gotten a lot of attention lately from the Trump administration – suggesting a future that includes data centers in space, or generation systems that seek to beam energy to Earth.

The program named the Space Photovoltaics (PV) Research and Development Partnership Intermediary Agreement (PIA) opportunity, will fund seven to eleven awards in total, across two separate tracks.

Track one will focus on Next-Generation Solar Cell Innovation: Projects will focus on the advancement of high-performance, low-cost, and durable space-grade PV cells in the lab environment. DOE anticipates $8 million for this track, spread across five to nine awards.

Track two will focus on Rapid Production and Demonstration: Projects in this track will focus on advancing innovative, high-volume manufacturing processes and demonstrating third party-validated performance of module prototypes in space or near-space environments. DOE anticipates $4 million here, across two to three awards for these projects.