On the afternoon of July 10, California's solar panels were doing most of the work: about 23 gigawatts of them, meeting roughly 72 percent of the entire state's electricity demand [1]. The night before, the state's batteries had poured out a record 12.99 gigawatts - about as much power as New York City draws on a hot day [1].
The records are not just Californian. In the first half of 2026 the United States passed 300 gigawatts of installed solar for the first time, and in May solar out-generated coal nationwide - also a first, at roughly thirteen percent of the country's electricity [1].
Solar and storage together made up about ninety-one percent of the new capacity added to the US grid in the first quarter of the year [1]. The grid that powers the country is, quarter by quarter, being rebuilt out of sunlight and batteries [1].
