ITC expiration led to surge in solar installs in Q2 2026

The U.S. added a lot of solar power in the second quarter of 2026 — 11.4 gigawatts of new capacity, up from 7.8 gigawatts in the first quarter. Most of that growth came from big utility-scale solar farms, which developers rushed to finish before a July 2026 deadline tied to a federal tax credit. The country now has enough solar capacity to power more than 50 million homes, over a third of all U.S. households.

For homeowners thinking about rooftop solar, the picture is mixed. Residential installations actually fell 12% from a year earlier and 10% from the previous quarter, according to the industry report behind this news. That decline follows the expiration of the residential solar tax credit, which had helped offset the cost of home solar systems. Industry analysts expect the residential market to start growing again in 2027, as more people install solar to cut electricity bills and keep power running during outages.

None of this changes what's available to any one household today, but it's a sign that the incentives that once made rooftop solar cheaper have shifted. If you're weighing a home solar installation, it's worth checking what federal, state, or utility incentives currently apply, since the credit that used to lower residential costs is gone for now and replacement support hasn't been detailed here. Utility-scale and commercial solar, by contrast, are still expanding quickly, with commercial installations up 11% year-over-year in the same quarter.