Wind energy capacity additions in the USA exceeded those of natural gas during the first ten months of 2025, according to a review of data released by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) and analysed by the Sun Day Campaign. Between January and October, new wind projects added 4,746 MW of capacity, a 55% increase compared with the same period a year earlier. Wind accounted for 15.2% of all new generating capacity brought online during the period, exceeding natural gas additions of 3,896 MW.
Despite this growth, wind was overtaken by solar in overall installed utility-scale capacity for the first time. Solar has been the largest source of new generating capacity for 26 consecutive months, from September 2023 to October 2025. Over that period, utility-scale solar capacity increased from 91.82 GW to 160.56 GW, compared with a 12.39 GW increase for wind.
Data from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s Energy Infrastructure Update shows that solar accounted for 72% of all new generating capacity added during the first ten months of 2025. In October alone, 1,082 MW of solar capacity entered service, representing nearly 60% of new capacity added that month. The remainder was mainly natural gas, with a small addition from oil.
In total, 22,457 MW of utility-scale solar capacity was added between January and October, only slightly below the level recorded during the same period in 2024. Installed utility-scale solar capacity has now reached about 160.09 GW, marginally exceeding wind capacity.
Looking ahead, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission forecasts that solar will add around 89,720 MW of high-probability capacity between November 2025 and October 2028, more than four times the expected additions for wind, which are forecast at 19,660 MW. Smaller increases are expected for hydropower and geothermal, while biomass capacity is projected to decline slightly.
Taken together, wind and solar now account for almost one quarter of total installed utility-scale generating capacity in the USA. When hydropower, biomass and geothermal are included, renewable energy sources represent just under one third of total utility-scale capacity. Including small-scale solar, which is not fully captured in the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission data, would lift the renewable share to more than one third.
